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

by Max Lucado
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“We have here only five loaves and two fish.� Matthew 14:17

How do you suppose Jesus felt about the basket inventory? Any chance he might have wanted them to include the rest of the possibilities? Involve all the options? Do you think he was hoping someone might count to eight?

“Well, let’s see. We have five loaves, two fish…and Jesus!� Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who told us:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Luke 11:19 NIV)

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7 NIV)

What ever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24 NIV)

Standing next to the disciples was the solution to their problems…but they didn’t go to him. They stopped their count at seven and worried.

What about you? Are you counting to seven, or to eight?

Here are eight worry stoppers to expand your tally:

Pray, first. “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him…(I Peter 5:7 AMP)

Easy now. Slow down. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him
(Psalms 37:7).

Act on it. The moment a concern surfaces, deal with it. Don’t dwell on it. Head off worries before they get the best of you. Be a doer, not a stewer.

Compile a worry list. Over a period of days record your anxious thoughts. Then review them. How many of them turned into a reality?

Evaluate your worry categories. Detect recurring areas of preoccupation that may become obsessions. Pray specifically about them.

Focus on today. God meets daily needs daily. He will give you what you need when it is needed.

Unleash a worry army. Share your feelings with a few loved ones. Ask them to pray with and for you.

Let God be enough. “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.� (Matthew 6:32-33 NLT).

Eight steps. Pray, first. Easy, now. Act on it. Compile a worry list. Evaluate your worry categories. Focus on today. Unleash a worry army. Let God be enough.
P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/08/30/ml_count/

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Max Lucado
From: Fearless
© (Thomas Nelson, 2009),

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
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But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

Growth is the goal of the Christian. Maturity is mandatory. If a child ceased to develop, the parent would be concerned, right?…

When a Christian stops growing, help is needed. If you are the same Christian you were a few months ago, be careful. You might be wise to get a checkup. Not on your body, but on your heart. Not a physical, but a spiritual.

May I suggest one?…

Why don’t you check your habits?… Make these four habits regular activities and see what happens.

First, the habit of prayer…. Second, the habit of study…. Third, the habit of giving…. And last of all, the habit of fellowship.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/08/19/ml_habit/

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Max Lucado
From: When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1994)

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
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With success comes a problem. Just ask Nadab, Elah, and Omri. Or interview Ahab, Ahaziah, or Jehoram. Ask these men to describe the problem of success. I would, you might be thinking, if I knew who they were. My point, exactly. These are men we should know. They were kings of Israel. They ascended to the throne…but something about the throne brought them down. Their legacies are stained with blood spilling and idol worship. They failed at success. They forgot both the source and purpose of their success.

You won’t be offered a throne, but you might be offered a corner office, a scholarship, an award, a new contract, a pay raise. You won’t be given a kingdom to oversee, but you might be given a home or employees or students or money or resources. You will, to one degree or another, succeed.

And when you do, you might be tempted to forget who helped you do so. Success sabotages the memories of the successful. Kings of the mountain forget who carried them up the trail.

The man who begged for help in medical school ten years ago is too busy to worship today. Back when the family struggled to make ends meet, they leaned on God for daily bread. Now that there is an extra car in the garage and a jingle in the pocket, they haven’t spoken to him in a while. In the early days of the church, the founding members spent hours in prayer. Today the church is large, well attended, well funded. Who needs to pray?

Success begets amnesia. Doesn’t have to, however. God offers spiritual ginseng to help your memory. His prescription is simply, “Know the purpose of success.� Why did God help you succeed? So you can make him known.

Why are you good at what you do? For your comfort? For your retirement? For your self-esteem? No. Deem these as bonuses, not as the reason. Why are you good at what you do? For God’s sake. Your success is not about what you do. It’s all about him—his present and future glory.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/08/17/ml_success/

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Max Lucado
From: It’s Not About Me
© (Thomas Nelson, 2007)
Used by permission

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
_________________________________________________________

Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NCV)

The purpose of worship is to change the face of the worshiper. That is exactly what happened to Christ on the mountain. Jesus’ appearance was changed: “His face became bright like the sun” (Matthew 17:2).

The connection between the face and worship is more than coincidental. Our face is the most public part of our bodies, covered less than any other area. It is also the most recognizable part of our bodies. We don’t fill a school annual with photos of people’s feet but rather with photos of faces. God desires to take our faces, this exposed and memorable part of our bodies, and use them to reflect his goodness.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/08/07/ml_reflecting/

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Max Lucado
From: Just Like Jesus
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1998)
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
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Those who pray keep alive the watch fires of faith. For the most part we don’t even know their names. Such is the case of someone who prayed on a day long ago. His name is not important. He is important not because of who he was, but because of what he did.

He went to Jesus on behalf of a friend. His friend was sick, and Jesus could help, and someone needed to go to Jesus, so someone went. Others cared for the sick man in other ways. Some brought food; others provided treatment; still others comforted the family. Each role was crucial. Each person was helpful, but no one was more vital than the one who went to Jesus.

John writes: “So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick’” (John 11:3, emphasis mine).

Someone carried the request. Someone walked the trail. Someone went to Jesus on behalf of Lazarus. And because someone went, Jesus responded.

In the economy of heaven, the prayers of saints are a valued commodity. John the apostle would agree. He wrote the story of Lazarus and was careful to show the sequence: The healing began when the request was made.

The phrase the friend of Lazarus used is worth noting. When he told Jesus of the illness, he said, “The one you love is sick.” The power of the prayer, in other words, does not depend on the one who makes the prayer but on the one who hears the prayer.

We can and must repeat the phrase in manifold ways. “The one you love is tired, sad, hungry, lonely, fearful, depressed.” The words of the prayer vary, but the response never changes. The Savior hears the prayer. He silences heaven so he won’t miss a word. The Master heard the request. Jesus stopped whatever he was doing and took note of the man’s words. This anonymous courier was heard by God.

John’s message is critical. 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.

Intently. Carefully. The prayers are honored as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful fragrance to our Lord. “The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God
(Revelations 8:4). Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God.

One call and heaven’s fleet appears. Your prayer on earth activates God’s power in heaven.

You are the someone of God’s kingdom. Your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don’t need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!

When you speak, Jesus hears.

And when Jesus hears, the world is changed.

All because someone prayed.

Question: What would you like to tell God today that you haven’t said lately, or ever?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/30/ml_god-hears

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Max Lucado
From: For These Tough Times
Copyright (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
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Holiday travel. It isn’t easy. Then why do we do it? Why cram the trunks and endure the airports? You know the answer. We love to be with the ones we love.

The four-year-old running up the sidewalk into the arms of Grandpa.

The cup of coffee with Mom before the rest of the house awakes.

That moment when, for a moment, everyone is quiet as we hold hands around the table and thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie.

We love to be with the ones we love.

May I remind you? So does God. He loves to be with the ones he loves. How else do you explain what he did? Between him and us there was a distance – a great span. And he couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t stand it. So he did something about it.

Before coming to the earth, “Christ himself was like God in every-thing…. But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servantPhilippians 2:6–7 (NCV).

Why? Why did Jesus travel so far?

I was asking myself that question when I spotted the squirrels outside my window. A family of black-tailed squirrels has made its home amid the roots of the tree north of my office.

We’ve been neighbors for three years now. They watch me peck the keyboard. I watch them store their nuts and climb the trunk. We’re mutually amused. I could watch them all day. Sometimes I do.

But I’ve never considered becoming one of them. The squirrel world holds no appeal to me. Who wants to sleep next to a hairy rodent with beady eyes? (No comments from you wives who feel you already do.) Give up the Rocky Mountains, bass fishing, weddings, and laughter for a hole in the ground and a diet of dirty nuts? Count me out.

But count Jesus in. What a world he left. Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to him. Earth’s finest cuisine would be walnuts on heaven’s table. And the idea of becoming a squirrel with claws and tiny teeth and a furry tail? It’s nothing compared to God becoming a one-celled embryo and entering the womb of Mary.

But he did. The God of the universe kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first night in the feed trough of a cow. “The Word became flesh and lived among usJohn 1:14 (NRSV). The God of the universe left the glory of heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a thing.

Why?  He loves to be with the ones he loves.

Question: Why did Jesus leave His place of majesty and humble Himself to this Earth?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/28/ml_he-loves/

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Max Lucado
From: Next Door Savior
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2003) Max Lucado

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
______________________________________________________________

The request came when I was twenty. “Can you address our church youth group?” We aren’t talking citywide crusade here. Think more in terms of a dozen kids around a West Texas campfire. I was new to the faith, hence new to the power of the faith. I told my story, and, lo and behold, they listened! One even approached me afterward and said something like, “That moved me, Max.” My chest lifted, and my feet shifted just a step in the direction of the spotlight.

God has been nudging me back ever since.

Some of you don’t relate. The limelight never woos you. You and John the Baptist sing the same tune: “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30, NLT). God bless you. You might pray for the rest of us. We applause-aholics have done it all: dropped names, sung loudly, dressed up to look classy, dressed down to look cool, quoted authors we’ve never read, spouted Greek we’ve never studied. For the life of me, I believe Satan trains battalions of demons to whisper one question in our ears: “What are people thinking of you?”

A deadly query. What they think of us matters not. What they think of God matters all. God will not share his glory with another (Isaiah 42:8). Next time you need a nudge away from the spotlight, remember: You are simply one link in a chain, an unimportant link at that.

Remember the other messengers God has used?

A donkey to speak to Balaam (Numbers 22:28).

A staff-turned-snake to stir Pharaoh (Exodus 7:10).

He used stubborn oxen to make a point about reverence and a big fish to make a point about reluctant preachers (I Samuel 6:1-12; Jonah 1:1-17)

God doesn’t need you and me to do his work. We are expedient messengers, ambassadors by his kindness, not by our cleverness.

It’s not about us, and it angers him when we think it is.

We who are entrusted with the gospel dare not seek applause but best deflect applause. For our message is about Someone else.

Question: How can we seek to be humble, without paradoxically becoming prideful of our humility?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/24/ml_about-him/

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Max Lucado
From: It’s Not About Me
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2007), Max Lucado
Used by permission

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
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What about your struggles? Is there any chance, any possibility, that you have been selected to struggle for God’s glory? Have you “been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake� (Philippians 1:29)?

Here is a clue. Do your prayers seem to be unanswered? What you request and what you receive aren’t matching up? Don’t think God is not listening. Indeed he is. He may have higher plans.

Here is another. Are people strengthened by your struggles? A friend of mine can answer yes. His cancer was consuming more than his body; it was eating away at his faith. Unanswered petitions perplexed him. Well-meaning Christians confused him. “If you have faith,� they said, “you will be healed.�

No healing came. Just more chemo, nausea, and questions. He assumed the fault was a small faith. I suggested another answer. “It’s not about you,� I told him. “Your hospital room is a showcase for your Maker. Your faith in the face of suffering cranks up the volume of God’s song.�

Oh, that you could have seen the relief on his face. To know that he hadn’t failed God and God hadn’t failed him—this made all the difference. Seeing his sickness in the scope of God’s sovereign plan gave his condition a sense of dignity. He accepted his cancer as an assignment from heaven: a missionary to the cancer ward.

A week later I saw him again. “I reflected God,� he said, smiling through a thin face, “to the nurse, the doctors, my friends. Who knows who needed to see God, but I did my best to make him seen.�

Bingo. His cancer paraded the power of Jesus down the Main Street of his world.

God will use whatever he wants to display his glory. Heavens and stars. History and nations. People and problems.

Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God.

Through your problems and mine, may God be seen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/18/ml_struggles/
Not to be reprinted without permission

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Max Lucado
From: It’s Not About Me
© (Thomas Nelson, 2007),
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
___________________________________________________________

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself…encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.â€? 2 Thessalonians 2:16 (NCV)

Are you still in love with Jesus? Before you remember anything, remember him. If you forget anything, don’t forget him.

Oh, but how quickly we forget. So much happens through the years. So many changes within. So many alterations without. And, somewhere, back there, we leave him. We don’t turn away from him…we just don’t take him with us. Assignments come. Promotions come. Budgets are made. Kids are born, and the Christ…the Christ is forgotten.

Has it been a while since you stared at the heavens in speechless amazement? Has it been a while since you realized God’s divinity and your carnality?

If it has, then you need to know something. He is still there. He hasn’t left.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/08/ml_forget/

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Max Lucado
From: Six Hours One Friday
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2003)
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
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You are….God’s own possession.”
1 Peter 2:9 (NCV)
 
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!

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/07/ml_possession/

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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/about/
Not to be reprinted without permission

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
__________________________________________________________________

“Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you?� 
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT).

Paul wrote these words to counter the Corinthian sex obsession. “Run away from sexual sin!� reads the prior sentence. “No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.� (v.18 NLT).

What a salmon scripture! No message swims more up-stream than this one. You know the sexual anthem of our day: “I’ll do what I want. It’s my body.� God’s firm response? “No, it’s not. It’s mine.�

Be quick to understand, God is not anti-sex. Dismiss any notion that God is anti-affection and anti-intercourse. After all, he developed the whole package. Sex was his idea. From his perspective, sex is nothing short of holy.

He views sexual intimacy the way I view our family Bible. Passed down from my father’s side, the volume is one hundred years old and twelve inches thick. Replete with lithographs, scribblings, and a family tree, it is, in my estimation, beyond value. Hence, I use it carefully.

When I need a stepstool, I don’t reach for the Bible. If the foot of my bed breaks, I don’t use the family Bible as a prop. When we need old paper for wrapping, we don’t rip a sheet out of this book. We reserve the heirloom for special times and keep it in a chosen place.

Regard sex the same way—as a holy gift to be opened in a special place at special times. The special place is marriage, and the time is with your spouse.

Casual sex, intimacy outside of marriage, pulls the Corinthian ploy. It pretends we can give the body and not affect the soul. We can’t. We humans are so intricately psychosomatic that whatever touches the soma impacts the psyche as well. The me-centered phrase “as long as no one gets hurt� sounds noble, but the truth is, we don’t know who gets hurt. God-centered thinking rescues us from the sex we thought would make us happy. You may think your dalliances are harmless, and years may pass before the x-rays reveal the internal damage, but don’t be fooled. Casual sex is a diet of chocolate—it tastes good for a while, but the imbalance can ruin you. Sex apart from God’s plan wounds the soul.

Your body, God’s temple. Respect it.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/02/ml_body/

*********************************************************
Max Lucado
From: It’s Not About Me
© (Thomas Nelson, 2007),

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

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
_____________________________________________________________

The problem is not that God hasn’t spoken but that we haven’t listened.

Imagine your reaction if I were to take a telephone book, open it up, and proclaim, I have found a list of everyone who’s on welfare! Or what if I said, Here is a list of college graduates! Or, This book will tell us who has a red car. You’d probably say, “Now wait a minute—that’s not the purpose of that book. You’re holding a telephone book. Its purpose is simply to reveal the name and number of residents of a city during a certain time frame.�

Only by understanding its purpose can I accurately use the telephone book. Only by understanding its purpose can I accurately use the Bible…

The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God’s plan to save his children. It asserts that man is lost and needs to be saved. And it communicates the message that Jesus is the God in the flesh sent to save his children.

Though the Bible was written over sixteen centuries by at least forty authors, it has one central theme—salvation through faith in Christ. Begun by Moses in the lonely desert of Arabia and finished by John on the lonely Isle of Patmos, it is held together by a strong thread: God’s passion and God’s plan to save his children.

What a vital truth! Understanding the purpose of the Bible is like setting the compass in the right direction. Calibrate it correctly and you’ll journey safely. But fail to set it, and who knows where you’ll end up.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/05/31/ml_compass/

*****************************************************************************
Max Lucado
From: Let the Journey Begin:
God’s Roadmap for New Beginnings
© (J Countryman 2009) Max Lucado
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
_________________________________________________________

Whoever is wise will…think about the love of the LORD.”
Psalm 107:43 (NCV)
 
Aging?  A necessary process to pass on to a better world.
 
Death?  Merely a brief passage, a tunnel….
 
The next time you find yourself alone in a dark alley facing
the undeniables of life, don’t cover them with a blanket,
or ignore them with a nervous grin.  Don’t turn up the TV
and pretend they aren’t there.  Instead, stand still, whisper
God’s name, and listen.  He is nearer than you think.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/05/26/ml_whoever/

*************************************************************
Max Lucado

From: Everyday Blessings
Copyright (J. Countryman, 2004)
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

The LORD hates those who tell lies but is pleased with those who keep their promises.”  Proverbs 12:22 (NCV)


Our Master has a strict honor code. From Genesis to Revelation, the theme is the same: God loves the truth and hates deceit. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul lists the type of people who will not inherit the kingdom of God. The covey he portrays is a ragged assortment of those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, sell their bodies, get drunk, rob people, and–there it is–lie about others.

Such rigor may surprise you. You mean my fibbing and flattering stir the same heavenly anger as adultery and aggravated assault? Apparently so….

Why the hard line? Why the tough stance?

For one reason: dishonesty is absolutely contrary to the character of God.

by Max Lucado
From: Just Like Jesus
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1998)
Used by permission

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Further Reading

•  Truth Be Told – Devotional by Melissa Talbot

• Truth– A Devotional by Katherine Kehler

•  Salvation Explained


Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

by Max Lucado
__________________________________________________________________

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.� 
Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)

When you are confused about the future, go to your Jehovah-raah, your caring shepherd. When you are anxious about provision, talk to Jehovah-jireh, the Lord who provides. Are your challenges too great? Seek the help of Jehovah-shalom, the Lord is peace. Is your body sick? Are your emotions weak? Jehovah-rophe, the Lord who heals you, will see you now. Do you feel like a soldier stranded behind enemy lines? Take refuge in Jehovah-nissi, the Lord my banner.
Meditating on the names of God reminds you of the character of God. Take these names and bury them in your heart.

          God is
                    the shepherd who guides,
                    the Lord who provides,
                    the voice who brings peace in the storm,
                    the physician who heals the sick, and
                    the banner that guides the soldier.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/05/08/ml_gods-name/
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Max Lucado
From: The Great House of God
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1997)
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men