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Hope Is Not A Granted Wish Or A Favor Performed; No It Is Far Greater Than That. It Is A Zany, Unpredictable Dependence On A God Who Loves To Surprise Us Out Of Our Socks.

-Max Lucado

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Hope Is Not A

Max Lucado

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Hope Is Not A Granted Wish Or A Favor Performed; No It Is Far Greater Than That. It Is A Zany, Unpredictable Dependence On A God Who Loves To Surprise Us Out Of Our Socks.

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What I'm Urging People To Do Is Trust In The Sovereignty Of God.

Sovereignty Of God

The Strength Of A Story Is That It Stays With People And It Gives An Opportunity For That Story To Connect With People Where The Holy Spirit Intends For It To Do So.

The Book On My Nightstand Right Now Isnt Anything That Inspired Me, But It Entertained Me. I Read A Book On Labor Day, It Was A Holiday, And I Have Three Daughters, And We All Went To The Shopping Mall And I Sat On The Bench And Read A Book While They Shopped, It Was Called The Greatest Golfer There Ever Was, It Was A Great Book, Easy To Read And Entertaining.

I Think We Have Such A Crown Jewel In The Forgiveness Of God, And It Changes People's Lives.

Staying Engaged With God Is Absolutely Essential For Getting Through A Tough Time.

1 Out Of 3 Americans Says, "i Hate My Job." 80-plus Percent Say, "i'm Ill-equipped And Unenthused About My Work."

People Of Each Generation In The Twentieth Century "were Three Times More Likely To Experience Depression" Than People Of The Preceding Generation.

I Would Not Have Said Anything About Mr. Trump, Never - I Would Never Have Said Anything If He Didn't Call Himself A Christian. It'd Be None Of My Business Whatsoever To Make Any Comments About His Language, His Vulgarities, His Slander Of People, But I Was Deeply Troubled ... That Here's A Man Who Holds Up A Bible One Day, And Calls A Lady "bimbo" The Next.

Indeed, Baptism Is A Vow, A Sacred Vow Of The Believer To Follow Christ. Just As A Wedding Celebrates The Fusion Of Two Hearts, Baptism Celebrates The Union Of Sinner With Savior.

We Serve A Good God Who Oversees The Affairs Of Mankind.

I Co-pastor Now, So I Preach Six Months, Then Another Guy Preaches Six Months. So That's Really Why I'm Preparing For January, Because I'll Finish In June; Then I'll Be Writing And Doing Other Projects For The Rest Of The Year.

The Promised Land, For Many People, Though, Is Something That's Far Off In The Future. People Are Saved, But They Don't Feel Victory. They Feel Like They're In A Wilderness And They're Wandering. And So This Book Of Joshua Gives Us A Picture Of How We Can Come Out Of The Wilderness In Our Own Spiritual Lives And Enter Into A Season Of Victory.

I Simply Think God Is Greater Than Our Weakness. In Fact, I Think It Is Our Weakness That Reveals How Great God Is.

Off To One Side Sits A Group Of Shepherds. They Sit Silently On The Floor, Perhaps Perplexed, Perhaps In Awe, No Doubt In Amazement. Their Night Watch Had Been Interrupted By An Explosion Of Light From Heaven And A Symphony Of Angels. God Goes To Those Who Have Time To Hear Him-and So On This Cloudless Night He Went To Simple Shepherds.

If God Had A Refrigerator, Your Picture Would Be On It. If He Had A Wallet, Your Photo Would Be In It. He Sends You Flowers Every Spring And A Sunrise Every Morning... Face It, Friend. He Is Crazy About You!

If You Are 8 Hours A Day In A Job You Hate, You're Not Going To Be A Very Good Spouse; It Can Contribute To Chemical Dependency, Financial Mismanagement.

[there Is] A Great Book From Ravi Zacharis, A Scholar From India, And Its Called Jesus Among Other Gods. I Havent Read That One, But I Know Ravi Really Well, And I Know Its A Good Book.

Worry Is To Joy What A Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Is To Dirt: Might As Well Attach Your Heart To A Happiness-sucker And Flip The Switch.

On The Eve Of The Cross, Jesus Made His Decision. He Would Rather Go To Hell For You Than Go To Heaven Without You.

We're Important, But Not Essential; Valuable, But Not Indispensable. We Have A Part In The Play, But We Are Not The Main Act. A Song To Sing, But We Are Not The Featured Voice. God Is.

You Are Who God Says You Are. Spiritually Alive. Heavenly Positioned. Connected To The Father. A Billboard Of Mercy. An Honored Child.

God Loves People Just The Way They Are, But He Loves Them Too Much To Leave Them That Way!

Most People Have Settled For A Wimpy Grace. It's Something That Doesn't Change Their Lives. There Is A Difference Between Grace And Mercy. Mercy Is The Decision Of God Not To Punish Us. But Grace Is The Decision Of God To Save And Bless Us.

Grace And Mercy

A Split Second Is Nothing Compared To Twenty-four Hours. On God's Clock You're In The Middle Of Your Millisecond. Compared To Eternity, What Is Seventy, Eighty, Ninety Years?

God Is Recruiting For Himself A People Who Will Populate Heaven.

God Is Not A Miser With His Grace. Your Cup May Be Low In Cash Or Clout, But It Is Overflowing With Mercy.

It Deeply Concerns Me That Somebody Who Knows Little Or Nothing About The Christian Faith Would Hear Mr. Trump Call Himself A Christian And Then Make A Decision Based On The Christian Faith, Based On His Behavior.

That's What I'm Hoping We Can All Do, Is Come Together In A Spirit Of Prayer.

Be Kind To Yourself. God Thinks You're Worth His Kindness. And He's A Good Judge Of Character.

If There Are A Thousand Steps Between Us And God, He Will Take All But One. He Will Leave The Final One For Us. The Choice Is Ours.

Da Vinci Painted One Mona Lisa. Beethoven Composed One Fifth Symphony. And God Made One Version Of You.

The Book, Max On Life, Is Really Kind Of A Second Chance To Answer These Questions.

We Might Question God's Actions, Decisions, Or Declarations. But We Can Never, Ever Question His Zany, Stunning, Unquenchable Affection.

If Today Were Your Last, Would You Do What You're Doing? Or Would You Love More, Give More, Forgive More? Then Do So! Forgive And Give As If It Were Your Last Opportunity. Love Like There's No Tomorrow, And If Tomorrow Comes, Love Again.

It's One Thing For Me To Tell People Not To Worry. It's Another Thing Entirely To Quote Matthew 6, Where Jesus Says, "why Do You Worry? The Birds Of The Air, The Flowers Of The Field..." He Says, "i Tell You, Do Not Worry."

We See A Hearse; We Think Sorrow. We See A Grave; We Think Despair. We Hear Of A Death; We Think Of A Loss. Not So In Heaven. When Heaven Sees A Breathless Body, It Sees The Vacated Cocoon & The Liberated Butterfly.

Prayer Pushes Us Through Life's Slumps, Propels Us Over The Humps And Pulls Us Out Of The Dumps. Prayer Is The Oomph We Need To Get The Answers We Seek.

At Our Church I Do Not Endorse Politicians Publicly. Because I Am Afraid That If I Endorse One Candidate, It Would Keep Somebody From Coming To Our Church. So I Made One Exception One Time To Put One Bumper Sticker On My Car, But I Don't Ever Do It Anymore.

I'm A Preacher First And A Writer Second, Although My Role Is Changing A Bit At The Church. I'm Going To Bring On A Co-teacher, But I'll Still Be A Pastor And A Writer.

His Is A Joy Which Consequences Cannot Quench. His Is A Peace Which Circumstances Cannot Steal.

God Would Rather Give Up His Son..than Give Up On Us

Fear Creates A Form Of Spiritual Amnesia

In Order To Find Jesus, Every One Of Us Needs Direction. God Gives It. The Story Of The Wise Men Shows Us How. The Star Sign Was Enough To Lead The Magi To Jerusalem. But It Took Scripture To Lead Them To Jesus.

My First Encounters With Faith Came About The Time I Was A Boy Scout, At About 14 Or 15. I Made The Logical Deduction That They Operate The Same Way; I Treated My Faith Like Earning A Merit Badge, And Everything About Christianity Was About Earning Merit Badges.

Our Tendency Is To Be Converted To Church And Not To Christ.

The Wizard [of Oz] Says Look Inside Yourself And Find Self. God Says Look Inside Yourself And Find [the Holy Spirit]. The First Will Get You To Kansas. The Latter Will Get You To Heaven. Take Your Pick.

Is It Possible For An Unbaptized Believer To Be Saved? Yes, Definitely. Should Every Believer Be Baptized? Yes, Definitely.

I've Never Really Prided Myself As Being Quick On My Feet.

Choose Satisfaction Over Salary. Better To Be Happy With Little Than Miserable With Much.

To Accept Grace Is To Admit Failure, A Step We Are Hesitant To Take. We Opt To Impress God With How Good We Are Rather Than Confessing How Great He Is.

How Grimy Did God Get When He Reached Down To Clean You Up? How Grimy Are You Willing To Get In Order To Be An 'imitator Of God'?

Does God Know If I Am Ignored Or Rejected? Find The Answer In The Compassionate Eyes Of Christ As He Stands To Defend The Adulterous Woman.

I Think We Live In Slavery To Fear. Most People Don't Have An Answer To The Death Question And Really Don't Even Have A Philosophy. That Is A Puzzle To Me. I Think Even If I Was Not A Christian, I Would Want To At Least Have A Personal Solution To The Death Question. Otherwise, Death Is Just A Frightening Thing.

The People Who Make A Difference Are Not The Ones With The Credentials But The Ones With The Concern.

I Just Love Those [saying Of Christ ]: "father Forgive Them, They Know Not What They Do. I Thirst. It Is Finished. Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit. Today You Will Be With Me In Paradise." That Was Really The Heart Of The Second Book I Wrote Called No Wonder They Call Him Savior.

Usually I'm Able To Prepare A Message About Two To Three Weeks In Advance.i Know Some Preachers Don't Like That. They Want To Be Finishing It On Friday Before They Preach It On Sunday, But Our Worship Team Really Likes Me To Get It Done Way In Advance.

Want To Learn To Forgive? Then Consider How You've Been Forgiven.

Jesus Spoke To Those Who Had Turned Their Backs On History. He Spoke To Those Who Had Blatantly Ignored Sign After Sign, Servant After Servant.

If Hurts Were Hairs, We'd All Look Like Grizzlies.

I Picked Up This Book Called Blue Mountain, Supposed To Be A Really Good Book On The Civil War.

I Really Enjoyed Reading The Writings Of Fredrick Buechner, I Havent Read Anything By Him In Probably A Decade But About 20 Years Ago I Read Four Or Five Books Of His And It Helped Me.

No One Can Teach Your Child Like You Can. No Nanny, Bible School Teacher, Aunt, Or Uncle Has Your Authority. What A Phenomenal Privilege Is Yours.

Yesterday You Can't Alter, But Your Reaction To Yesterday You Can. The Past You Cannot Change, But Your Response To Your Past You Can.

God Has Work For You To Do.

Children Spell Love With Four Letters: T-i-m-e.

The Bible Teaches Us That God Does Not Cause Pain, But That He Uses Pain And Evil To Advance His Cause And Shape His Servants.

I Think That I Speak A Lot Like I Write.

I Just Love Preaching.

You Can Do Something No One Else Can Do In A Fashion No One Else Can Do It.

Can Do Something

I Could Easily Go Through All My Books And Mark The Ones That Were Original, Mark The Ones That Were Adapted Or Pre-published That I've Found. I'm Guessing Though That Probably 75% Of Them Are Personal Events. I Just Love A Personal Story.

The Idea Of A Spiritual Heart Transplant Is A Vivid Image To Me; Once You Have The Heart Of Somebody Else Inside You, Then That Heart Is There. Jesus' Heart Is Inside Me, And My Heart Is Gone. So If God Were To Place A Stethoscope Against My Chest, He Would Hear The Heart Of Jesus Christ Beating.

The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding, Will Guard Your Hearts And Minds Through Christ Jesus . As We Do Our Part Rejoice In The Lord, Pursue A Gentle Spirit, Pray About Everything, And Cling To Gratitude, God Does His Part. He Bestows Upon Us The Peace Of God. Note, This Is Not A Peace From God. Our Father Gives Us The Very Peace Of God. He Downloads The Tranquility Of The Throne Room Into Our World, Resulting In An Inexplicable Calm. We Should Be Worried, But We Aren't. We Should Be Upset, But We're Comforted.

Aging Is God's Idea. It's One Of The Ways He Keeps Us Headed Homeward.

Every Person Is Unique.

You Are Valuable Because You Exist. Not Because Of What You Do Or What You Have Done - But Simply Because You Are.

Sometimes I Wonder If We Don't See Christ's Love As Much In The People He Tolerated As In The Pain He Endured.

You Are Never More Like Jesus Than When You Pray For Others. Pray For This Hurting World.

When You Are In The Final Days Of Your Life, What Will You Want? Will You Hug That College Degree In The Walnut Frame? Will You Ask To Be Carried To The Garage So You Can Sit In Your Car? Will You Find Comfort In Rereading Your Financial Statement? Of Course Not. What Will Matter Then Will Be People. If Relationships Will Matter Most Then, Shouldn't They Matter Most Now?

Changing Directions In Life Is Not Tragic. Losing Passion In Life Is.

God Has The Final Word On Your Life And His Word Is Grace.

I Believe A Personal Relationship With God Is Healthy, But Organized Religion Has Potential For Danger, In Whatever Faith.

The Worship Of Safety Emasculates Greatness.

Unhappiness On Earth Cultivates A Hunger For Heaven. By Gracing Us With A Deep Dissatisfaction, God Holds Our Attention.

God's Love Has A Width, Length, Height, And Depth, But We Will Never Reach The End Of It. Our Capacity To Experience God's Love Will Be Exhausted Long Before God's Capacity To Give It Is Strained. The Picture Of Having Christ Dwell Inside Us By Faith Presents Us With Compelling And Comforting Possibilities. What Christ Does In Us And Through Us Will Always Be 'exceedingly Abundantly Above All We Ask Or Think.'

I Believe Ingratitude Is The Original Sin. I Believe If Adam And Eve Had Been Grateful For The Garden Of Eden They Had, They Would Not Have Been So Focused On The One Tree They Didn't Have.

There Is A Difference Between Grace And Mercy. Mercy Is The Decision Of God Not To Punish Us. But Grace Is The Decision Of God To Save And Bless Us.

Grace And Mercy

If We Are To Be Just Like Jesus, We Must Have Regular Time Of Talking To God And Listening To His Word.

If We Think That This Life Is All There Is To Life, Then There Is No Interpretation Of Our Problems, Our Pain, Not Even Of Our Privileges. But Everything Changes When We Open Up To The Possibility That God's Story Is Really Our Story Too.

It's No Wonder, That God's Anxiety Therapy Includes A Large, Delightful Dollop Of Gratitude. The Anxious Heart Says, "lord, If Only I Had This, That, Or The Other, I'd Be Okay." The Grateful Heart Says, "oh, Look! You've Already Given Me This, That, And The Other. Thank You, God."

I'm Right Now Wrapping Up The Sermon Series On Grace. I'd Like To Figure Out What This Next Series Will Be In January. To Do That, I'm Going To Come Up With Four Or Five Really Good Ideas - At Least That I Think Are Really Good Ideas - And If I Don't Sense God Really Highlighting One Of Those, I Will Go To The Elders Of Our Church And My Co-pastors.

Kind Of The Bottom Line For Me, I Don't Think People Come To The Church Where I Preach To Hear My View On Politics.

I Think You Could Say Every Pastor Is Writing This Book [ Max On Life]; For Many It Just Never Gets Published.

Be Careful What You Think, Because Your Thoughts Run Your Life.

He Loves Each One Of Us Like There Is Only One Of Us To Love (when God Whisper Your Name)

For All Its Peculiarities And Unevenness, The Bible Has A Simple Story. God Made Man. Man Rejected God. God Won't Give Up Until He Wins Him Back. God Will Whisper. He Will Shout. He Will Touch And Tug. He Will Take Away Our Burdens; He'll Even Take Away Our Blessings. If There Are A Thousand Steps Between Us And Him, He Will Take All But One. But He Will Leave The Final One For Us. The Choice Is Ours. Please Understand. His Goal Is Not To Make You Happy. His Goal Is To Make You His. His Goal Is Not To Get You What You Want; It Is To Get You What You Need.

Let Your Failures Refine You, Not Define You.

God Uses Every Possible Means To Communicate With You.

So Immediately I'm Trying To Think: What Are Some Of These Times When We Feel We're Losing Our Hold On Christ, And What's The Fear We're Trying To Address? I Try To Get Into That Quickly.

Every Other Religion Is A Salvation By Self, Christianity Is A Salvation By Christ.

Confession Is The Act Of Inviting God To Walk The Acreage Of Our Hearts. “there Is A Rock Of Greed Over Here, Father. I Can’t Budge It. And That Tree Of Guilt Near The Fence? Its Roots Are Long And Deep. And May I Show You Some Dry Soil, Too Crusty For Seed?” God’s Seed Grows Better If The Soil Of The Heart Is Cleared.

God Loves You Just The Way You Are, But He Refuses To Leave You That Way.

In Our Faith We Follow In Someone's Steps. In Our Faith We Leave Footprints To Guide Others. It's The Principle Of Discipleship

I Choose Faithfulness...today I Will Keep My Promises. My Debtors Will Not Regret Their Trust. My Associates Will Not Question My Word. My Wife Will Not Question My Love. And My Children Will Never Fear That They Father Will Not Come Home.

If Relationships Matter Most Then [at The End Of Our Lives], Shouldn't They Matter Most Now?

A Few Songs With Him Might Change The Way You Sing. Forever.

There Is Nothing On Earth That Can Satisfy Our Deepest Longing. We Long To See God. The Leaves Of Life Are Rustling With The Rumor That We Will - And We Won't Be Satisfied Until We Do.

God Did Everything Necessary To Get Herod's Attention. He Sent Messengers From The East And A Message From The Torah. He Sent Wonders From The Sky And Words From Scripture. He Sent The Testimony Of The Heavens And The Teaching Of The Prophets. But Herod Refused To Listen. He Chose His Puny Dynasty Over Christ. He Died A Miserable Old Man.

Every Movie Really Does Have A Message. Somebody Somewhere Is Trying To Make A Point Or Advance A Cause Or Promote Their Agenda. There's Nothing Wrong With That. They Try To Do So In An Entertaining Fashion.

Answer The Big Question Of Eternity, And The Little Questions Of Life Fall Into Perspective.

All Of My Sermons Become Books. I've Been Accused Of Having No Unpublished Thought. I Encourage Pastors To Do That. I Think There Are So Many Great Sermons That Never Really Get Circulation.

I'm Convinced That The Christian Claim Is Really True, That This Is Just A Warm Up To The Big Event. That This Is Just The Appetizer To The Feast, And If We Can Plug Into That And Understand That This Part Of Our Story Is Just The Introduction, It Is Not Even The First Line Of The First Paragraph, It's Just The First Letter Or First Word. We Are Just Getting Started.

All Preaching Should Be As Creative As We Can Make It. We've Been Entrusted With Such A Treasure. To Have Anywhere From 50 To 5000 People Who Give Us 30 Minutes Of Their Time To Hear Whatever We Want To Say - I Think They Deserve All The Creativity That We Can Give.

Your Requests Change History Because Your Prayers Change God!

I Choose Joy... I Will Invite My God To Be The God Of Circumstance. I Will Refuse The Temptation To Be Cynical... The Tool Of The Lazy Thinker. I Will Refuse To See People As Anything Less Than Human Beings, Created By God. I Will Refuse To See Any Problem As Anything Less Than An Opportunity To See God.

The Bible Is Full Of Stories Of Men And Women Who've Found Themselves In Frightening Situations But Who Chose To Look Up Rather Than Look Down - Look Up In Faith - And God Got Them Through It.

Engage With The Bible. Meditate On It Day And Night. Think And Rethink About God's Word. Let It Be Your Guide. Make It Your Go-to Book For Questions. Let It Be The Ultimate Authority In Your Life.

Fear Results In Fight Or Flight. Anxiety Creates Doom And Gloom. Fear Is The Pulse That Pounds When You See A Coiled Rattlesnake In Your Front Yard. Anxiety Is The Voice That Tells You, Never, Ever, For The Rest Of Your Life, Walk Barefooted Through The Grass. There Might Be A Snake...somewhere.

There Are Many Things In Life Over Which You Have No Choice. But The Greatest Activity Of Life Is Well Within Your Dominion. You Can Choose What You Think About. You Can Be The Air Traffic Controller Of Your Mental Airport. You Occupy The Control Tower And Can Direct The Mental Traffic Of Your World. Thoughts Circle Above, Coming And Going. If One Of Them Lands, It's Because You Gave It Permission. If It Leaves, It's Because You Directed It To Do So. You Can Select Your Thought Pattern.

Listen Carefully To The Feedback Your Readers Give You. Dont Write Unless People Want You To Write, A Lot Of People Write Just Because They Want To Write.

No One Wants Your Worries...not Even You. Anxiety Comes At A High Cost. Let Jesus Lead You Beside Still Waters.

History Is Not An Endless Succession Of Meaningless Circles But A Directed Movement Toward A Great Event.

Your Serenity Matters To Heaven. God's Presence Encapsulates Your Life.

I Don't Think I Have Ever Created An Entire Fiction Piece Or Followed A Historical Piece And Made That Into A Sermon.

Baptism Is The Initial Step Of A Faithful Heart.

No One Can Do Everything, But Everyone Can Do Something

No Acts Are Random Or Wasted.

God's Solution Is A Prayer Away!

We Just Need The Government To Be That Greenhouse That Permits Our Faith To Grow.

You Will Never Forgive Anyone More Than God Has Already Forgiven You.

I Think There Is, Not In The Sense That I Enjoy It, But That It's An Important Question. It's The Question, "does The Presence Of Pain Mean God Doesn't Care? Does God Not Love Me Anymore?" I Think That's A Very Common Connection We Tend To Make.

God's Love Never Ceases. Never... God Doesn't Love Us Less If We Fail Or More If We Succeed. God's Love Never Ceases.

We Will Find Grace To Help Us When We Need It

Grace Is Not Blind. It Sees The Hurt Full Well. But Chooses To See God's Forgiveness Even More.

Even Though You May Not Understand How God Works, You Know He Does.

We Enjoy The Fruit Of The First Coming But Anticipate The Glory Of The Second.

God Does Not Exist To Make A Big Deal Out Of Us. We Exist To Make A Big Deal Out Of Him. It's Not About You. It's Not About Me. It's All About Him.

If God Were Only Mighty, We Would Salute Him. But Since He Is Merciful And Mighty, We Can Approach Him.

It's Not About Winning Or Losing, But Love And Respect.

Your Goal Is Not To Know Every Detail Of The Future. Your Goal Is To Hold The Hand Of The One Who Does And Never, Ever Let Go.

Anger Is The Noise Of The Soul; The Unseen Irritant Of The Heart; The Relentless Invader Of Silence.

Don't Equate The Presence Of God With A Good Mood Or A Pleasant Temperament. God Is Near Whether You Are Happy Or Not.

Presence Of God

I Don't Get Asked A Lot Of Questions About Who Is The Best Political Candidate Or What My Position Is On What The Senate Is About To Do.

Through The Years, I Have Always Enjoyed Anything Chuck Swindoll Has Written. When I First Got Into Writing Chuck's Books Really Modeled A Style Of Writing That I Thought Was Accessible To People And Yet Still Biblical. I Wanted To Do That.

I Was Praying About What I Needed To Teach. I Felt It Wasn't Time To Move Out Of The Theme Of Romans, Which Is Salvation By Grace Through Faith.

Let's Try To Present The Same Gospel But In A Fresh Fashion, Always Looking For A Better Way To Connect With The Audience.

Where We Might Think Of Sin As Slip-ups Or Missteps, God Views Sin As A Godless Attitude That Leads To Godless Action.

God Saves. Specifically He Will Save His People From Their Sins.

We Are Jesus Christ's; We Belong To Him. But Even More, We Are Increasingly Him. He Moves In And Commandeers Our Hands And Feet, Requisitions Our Minds And Tongues. We Sense His Rearranging: Debris Into The Divine, Pig's Ear Into Silk Purse. He Repurposes Bad Decisions And Squalid Choices. Little By Little, A New Image Emerges.

When It Comes To Christ, You've Got To Do The Same. Call Him Crazy, Or Crown Him As King. Dismiss Him As A Fraud, Or Declare Him To Be God. Walk Away From Him, Or Bow Before Him, But Don't Play Games With Him.

God's Greatest Blessings Often Come Costumed As Disasters. Any Doubters Need To Do Nothing More Than Ascend The Hill Of Calvary.

In Our Grandparents' Generation News Of An Earthquake In Nepal Would Reach Around The World Some Days Later. In Our Parents' Day The Nightly News Communicated The Catastrophe. Now It's A Matter Of Minutes. We've Barely Processed One Crisis, And Then We Hear Of Another.

I Guess Grace Doesn't Have To [be] Logical. If It Did, It Wouldn't Be Grace.

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!

The Claims Of Christ Are Always On Trial, And We Remain Under Oath! We Are His Witnesses For Truth.

God Meets Our Needs One Day At A Time.

There's No Person God Cannot Reach.

Our Prayers May Be Awkward. Our Attempts May Be Feeble. But Since The Power Of Prayer Is In The One Who Hears It And Not In The One Who Says It, Our Prayers Do Make A Difference.

I See That A Lot In My Own Life And In The Lives Of Others.does The Presence Of Pain Mean The Absence Of God?

Focus On Giants - You Stumble. Focus On God - Giants Tumble.

The Presence Of Fear Does Not Mean You Have No Faith. Fear Visits Everyone. But Make Your Fear A Visitor And Not A Resident.

You Long For One True Friend? You Have One. And Because You Do, You Have A Choice. You Can... Ponder The Malice Of Your Monster Or The Kindness Of Your Christ.

I Think There Is Something About A Story That Is Enduring. Stories Take On A Life Of Their Own.

Jesus Came To Save Us, Not Just From Politics, Enemies, Challenges, Or Difficulties.

God Loves Us Too Much To Indulge Our Every Whim.

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.

I Think There Is, Not In The Sense That I Enjoy It, But That It's An Important Question. It's The Question, "does The Presence Of Pain Mean God Doesn't Care? Does God Not Love Me Anymore?" I Think That's A Very Common Connection We Tend To Make. I See That A Lot In My Own Life And In The Lives Of Others.

I Would Love To Have A More Earnest Prayer Life! In My Life, Prayer Is The Single Most Difficult Discipline. I Love God And There's Something In Me That Would Rather Do Things For God Than Talk To God. I'm Not By Nature A Mystical, Devotional Person. I Like To Do Things. And So It's A Challenge For Me To Have A Faithful Prayer Life, But I Know God Loves Me And He's Not Mad At Me. He Just Wishes I Would Slow Down And Turn Things Over To Him. And That's What I Think You Achieve Through Prayer.

Every Time We Equip The Church With A Verse, Chapter Or A Story From The Bible, We're Really Placing Another Weapon In The Hands Of The Holy Spirit That He Uses To Challenge And Strengthen The Church. I Think That's Very Important.

If You Knew Jesus Was Returning Tomorrow, How Would You Feel Today? Anxious, Afraid, Unprepared? If So, You Can Take Care Of Your Fears By Placing Your Trust In Christ. If Your Answer Includes Words Like Happy, Relieved, And Excited, Hold Tightly To Your Joy.

Worry Is Anti-trust. If You're Worried, You Don't Trust Something: Your Kids, Their Friends, Strangers, The Church, Even God. Can He Take Care Of Your Children? Certainly. Jesus Says, 'i Tell You, Stop Being Anxious And Worried About Your Life.' Pretty Blunt. Stop It! Easier Said Than Done, Huh? Worry Tests Your Trust, So Hand Your Children To God And Let Him Babysit Your Babies When You're Not Around. He's Pretty Good At It!

Baptism Is Bowing Before The Father And Letting Him Do His Work.

What If You Woke Up This Morning And Had Only The Things You Thanked God For Yesterday?

If You Concern Yourself With Your Neighbor’s Talents, You’ll Neglect Your Own. But If You Concern Yourself With Yours, You Could Inspire Both!

Aren't You Glad That God Doesn't Give You Only That Which You Remember To Thank Him For?

The One Who Saved Your Soul Longs To Remake Your Heart. Let's Fix Our Eyes On Jesus. Perhaps In Seeing Him, We Will See What We Can Become!

If You're Feeling Pain, Express That To The Lord. If You're Feeling Worried, Express Those Worries. One Passage That Gives Me Comfort Is In Psalms, Chapter 11, Verse 3, It Reads, "when All That Is Good Falls Apart, What Can Good People Do?" That's Really The Question Of The Day.

God Gives Us People To Love And Things To Use, Not Things To Love And People To Use.

All My Books Come Out Of Sermons, And I'm Really A Pastor Who Writes Rather Than A Writer Who Pastors.

If You Knew Jesus Was Coming Tomorrow, What Would You Do Today? Then Do It!

It's My Hope That As You Dip Your Toe Into The Bible's Story And Viewpoint, You'll Find Yourself Feeling That The Good Book Knows More About The World - And About You - Than Any Normal Book Does.

Finding Yourself

It Was A Matter Of Going Back Through A Lot Of Sermons And Remembering The Questions And Conversations, Where These Ideas Came From. So The Book [max On Life] Is Really Kind Of A Second Chance To Answer These Questions.

While We Appreciate Our Ancestry As Americans Or Even Our Ethnic Ancestry And Our Color Of Skin, We Believe That Our Real Citizenship Is In Heaven.

One Phrase Summarizes The Horror Of Hell. "god Isn't There."

Look At The Bethlehem Birth. A King Ordered A Census. Joseph Was Forced To Travel. Mary, As Round As A Ladybug, Bounced On A Donkey's Back. The Hotel Was Full. The Hour Was Late. The Event Was One Big Hassle. Yet, Out Of The Hassle, Hope Was Born. It Still Is.

Giants. We Must Face Them. Yet We Need Not Face Them Alone.

My Book Centers In On The New Testament, The Goal Being To Help A Person Who Wants To Understand The Bible To See How What God Did As Revealed In The New Testament Will Reveal To Them Their Own Personal Story.

Someday I Want To Go Back And Maybe Write Another Book On Those Seven Sayings. I Just Think They Are Kind Of Like A Table Of Contents To The Christian Hope. They Invite Us To Go Into All The Aspects Of The Heart Of Jesus. Everything About Them From The Drama, The Setting, The Passion Around Them - I Think The Seven Sayings Of The Cross Are Powerful.

You Cover 50 Yards On The Playing Field Of Faith With A Story That Downplays Your Success. You Cover 3 Yards, Or You May Even End Up Backward, With Anything That Up-plays Or Promotes You.

Heaven Is Beyond Our Imagination . . . . At Our Most Creative Moment, At Our Deepest Thought, At Our Highest Level, We Still Cannot Fathom Eternity.

My Thinking Is That Miracles Exist To Reveal God, But Miracles Don't Exist For God To Do Me Any Favors.

Demanding Respect Is Like Chasing A Butterfly. Chase It, And You'll Never Catch It. Sit Still, And It May Light On Your Shoulder.

God Wants To Help You Find Your Way Home.

What Is This Love That Endures Decades, Passes On Sleep, And Resists Death To Give One Kiss? Call It Agape Love, A Love That Bears A Semblance Of God's.

Your Pain Has A Purpose. Your Problems, Struggles, Heartaches, And Hassles Cooperate Toward One End-the Glory Of God.

Christianity Teaches Salvation By Grace Through Faith, Every Other Religion Teaches Salvation Through Works And Merit.

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 His Name, And Listen. He Is Nearer Than You Think.

Jesus Took Your Punishment, And God Gave You Credit For Jesus' Perfection.

Seek First The Kingdom Of Wealth And You'll Worry Over Every Dollar. Seek First The Kingdom Of Health And You'll Sweat Every Blemish And Bump. Seek First The Kingdom Of Popularity, And You'll Relive Every Conflict. Seek First The Kingdom Of Safety, And You'll Jump At Every Crack Of The Twig. But Seek First His Kingdom And You Will Find It. On That, We Can Depend And Never Worry.

If I'm A Young Mom Or Young Dad, I Can Find A Great Source Of Strength. God Has Promised That He Will Help Me To Be The Mom Or Dad That He Wants Me To Be. He Has Promised To Be With Me Every Step Of The Way. He Has Promised That He Will Never Leave Me Or Forsake Me. These Are Wonderful Promises That I Can Learn To Trust And Build A Life On.

We Need To Remember That The First Disciples Were Ordinary Men Called To An Extraordinary Mission. Their Devotion To Jesus Outweighed- By Hair- Their Fears And Insecurities. As A Result God Change Them And Use Them To Accomplish Some Mind-boggling Things. Why Couldn't God - Why Wouldn't God Do The Same In Your Life?

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