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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.

-Max Lucado

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Look At The Bethlehem

Max Lucado

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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.

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I Have A Lot Of Special Memories With My Parents But My Toughest One Is, I Had, As A Teenager, A Pretty Insatiable Appetite For Beer. The First Time I Got Drunk My Father Found Me Throwing Up In The Bathroom. I Was 15, Maybe 16, And The Disappointment In His Voice, I Can Hear It To This Day, And The Sorrow That That Brought To Him. He Just Felt Like A Failure As A Father, And Id Give Anything To Take That Day Back Because That Was So Hard On Him. In Time, My Life Got Better, And His Did Too, But That Was Really Memorable, One Of Those Memories Id Like To Forget.

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Understanding God

I Choose Goodness... I Will Go Without A Dollar Before I Take A Dishonest One. I Will Be Overlooked Before I Will Boast. I Will Confess Before I Will Accuse. I Choose Goodness.

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I Think We Pray, We Make A Clear-headed Decision, And Then We Quit Being So Mean To Each Other. We've Got To Stop That.

Jesus Will Empty The Tombs And Melt The Winter Of Death.

Faith Is Not The Belief That God Will Do What You Want. It Is The Belief That God Will Do What Is Right.

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God Is Kind, But He Is Not Soft. He Takes Us Firmly By The Hand And Leads Us Into A Radical Life Change.

Grace Is The Voice That Calls Us To Change And Then Gives Us The Power To Pull It Off.

When Grace Happens, Generosity Happens. Unsquashable, Eyepopping Bigheartedness Happens.

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

God Loves You Because He Has Chosen To Do So.

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.

God's Delight Is Received Upon Surrender, Not Awarded Upon Conquest.

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.

In A World Of Upward Mobility, Choose Downward Servility.

Upward Mobility

If God Was Willing To Wrap Himself In Rags And Drink From A Mother's Breast, Then All Questions About His Love For Us Are Off The Table.

The Wonders Of Nature Call To You. The Promises And Prophecies Of Scripture Speak To You. God Himself Reaches Out To You.

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

We (christians) Are Always In The Presence Of God. There Is Never A Non-sacred Moment! His Presence Never Diminishes. Our Awareness Of His Presence May Falter, But The Reality Of His Presence Never Changes.

Well, I Think The Main Message Is There Is More To Your Story. There Is More Than What Happens Between The Crib And The Grave, And That Is What I Am Really Trying To Speak To, This Idea That All Of Life Is This Life And That There Is Nothing More Than What We See And Experience Right Here On This Earth.

You Change Your Life By Changing Your Heart.

Those Who Successfully Go Through Tough Times Do So Because They Keep Insisting.

The Bible Is The Story Of Two Gardens: Eden And Gethsemane. In The First, Adam Took A Fall. In The Second, Jesus Took A Stand. In The First, God Sought Adam. In The Second, Jesus Sought God. In Eden, Adam Hid From God. In Gethsemane, Jesus Emerged From The Tomb. In Eden, Satan Led Adam To A Tree That Led To His Death. From Gethsemane, Jesus Went To A Tree That Led To Our Life.

God Comes On His Own Terms. He Comes When Commands Are Revered, Hearts Are Clean, And Confession Is Made.

There Is No Religion Like Christianity, It Is Not One Religion Among Others, It Is Completely Different, Its Mixing Apples And Oranges.

He Saw You In Your Own Gethsemane And He Didn't Want You To Be Alone..he Would Rather Go To Hell For You Than To Haven Without You.

To See Sin Without Grace Is Despair. To See Grace Without Sin Is Arrogance. To See Them In Tandem Is Conversion.

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Thinking Of You

Fear Never Wrote A Symphony Or Poem, Negotiated A Peace Treaty, Or Cured A Disease. Fear Never Pulled A Family Out Of Poverty Or A Country Out Of Bigotry. Fear Never Saved A Marriage Or A Business. Courage Did That. Faith Did That. People Who Refused To Consult Or Cower To Their Timidities Did That. But Fear Itself? Fear Herds Us Into A Prison And Slams The Doors. Wouldn't It Be Great To Walk Out?

God Saves, Not God Empathizes, Cares, Listens, Helps, Assists, Or Applauds.

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'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.

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

I Try To Help People See They're Going To Have These Times In Which They Turn Away, In Which They Deny Christ And Their Faith Grows Cold, Their Convictions Weakened; But Jesus Is Waiting.

Very, Very Rarely Will I Leave San Antonio To Speak Somewhere Else. I Used To Do That, And It Just About Wore Me Out, So I Quit Traveling.

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.

If God Is Willing To Be Born In A Barnyard, Then Expect Him To Be At Work Anywhere - Bars, Bedrooms, Boardrooms, And Brothels.

Christ Lived The Life We Could Not Live And Took The Punishment We Could Not Take To Offer The Hope We Cannot Resist.

We're All Travelers, All Sojourners.

When A Christian Stops Growing, Help Is Needed. If You Are The Same Christian You Were A Few Months Ago, Be Careful.

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

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.

One Person Told Me That Christians Believe In A King. We Believe In A King Jesus Who Oversees The Affairs Of Mankind. Maybe We're Reaching For An Earthly King.

The Difference Between Mercy And Grace? Mercy Gave The Prodigal Son A Second Chance. Grace Gave Him A Feast.

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

What Christ Does In Us And Through Us Will Always Be 'exceedingly Abundantly Above All We Ask Or Think.'

I'm Thinking, "what Difference Will This Sermon Make In Their Lives Tomorrow? What Am I Trying To Give Them That Will Make A Difference?" For Example, Had To Do With The Theme That Jesus Will Not Let Go Of You. He's Holding Onto You. I Talked To Them About The Disciples And Peter On The Night Before The Crucifixion Of Christ - How Jesus Said That All Of You Are Going To Turn Away, But He Would Be Waiting For Them In Galilee.

Christ Became One Of Us To Redeem All Of Us.

I Choose Gentleness... Nothing Is Won By Force. I Choose To Be Gentle. If I Raise My Voice May It Be Only In Praise. If I Clench My Fist, May It Be Only In Prayer. If I Make A Demand, May It Be Only Of Myself.

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

The Church Is Never A Place To Show Off. Do Your Good Deeds Quietly. Serve; Don't Seek To Be Seen

The State Of Your Heart Dictates Whether You Harbor A Grudge Or Give Grace, Seek Self-pity Or Seek Christ, Drink Human Misery Or Taste God's Mercy.

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.

A Little Rain Can Straighten A Flower Stem. A Little Love Can Change A Life.

In The Pulpit, I Really Feel Like I'm In My Sweet Spot, I'm In My Stride.

God Wants You To Know That He Gets You.

You Wonder If God Has A Place For A Person Like You. Find Your Answer In The Bethlehem Stable.

What I Try To Do Is Narrow The Sermon Series Down To One Big Question. In This Case The Question Is: What Happens When Grace Happens? I Knew I Wanted To Preach About Grace. I Just Felt As If It Was Time For Our Church To Be Refreshed And See The Beauty Of God's Grace - The Uniqueness Of The Christian Grace As Compared To The Teachings Of Other World Religions On Forgiveness.

World Religions

Religion Is Intended To Facilitate Hope And Faith. Much Like A Path Is Intended To Facilitate A Journey.

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

We've Got To Realize There's Something Bigger Than Who Is In The White House. And That Is The Spirit Of Camaraderie And Peace That Keeps Our Nation Together.

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

Our Moods May Shift, But God's Doesn't. Our Minds May Change, But God's Doesn't. Our Devotion May Falter, But God's Never Does. Even If We Are Faithless, He Is Faithful, For He Cannot Betray Himself. He Is A Sure God.

The Life Of Jesus Christ Is A Message Of Hope, A Message Of Mercy, A Message Of Life In A Dark World.

Our God Is Abundant In Love And Steadfast In Mercy. He Saves Us, Not Because We Trust In A Symbol, But Because We Trust In A Savior.

People Assume When They Come Into A Church And See A Person Up There Speaking, 'that Person Must Be A Good Person.' My Challenge Through The Years Has Been Believing That: 'i Guess I Must Be A Really Good Person.' I Struggle With It. It Just Helps Me To Keep That Confessional Posture.

Real Courage Embraces The Twin Realities Of Current Difficulty And Ultimate Triumph.

Matthew Loved The Magi. He Gave Their Story More Square Inches Of Text Than He Gave The Narrative Of The Birth Of Jesus. He Never Mentions The Shepherds Or The Manger, But He Didn't Want Us To Miss The Star And The Seekers. It's Easy To See Why. Their Story Is Our Story.

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.

Sentences Are Like Just Caught Fish. Spunky Today, Stinky Tomorrow.

God Sends His Angels To Protect Us And His Word As A Star To Guide Us. Then He Surrounds Us With His Grace. We Become His Depot, The Distribution Point Of God's Gifts.

Michael Jordan Once Said That The Most Peaceful Moments Of His Life Were On A Basketball Court, Because That's The Only Place He Knew Exactly What To Do. And To Me The Most Peaceful Moments In My Ministry Are In The Pulpit Because That's When I Really Know What I'm Going To Do.

Your Home Is Your Giant-size Privilege, Your Towering Priority.

Compassion In Evangelical Churches Is Out Of Balance. When I Talk About It, I Get A Lot Of Glazed Expressions.

You Have A God Who Hears You, The Power Of Love Behind You, The Holy Spirit Within You, And All Of Heaven Ahead Of You. If You Have The Shepherd, You Have Grace For Every Sin, Direction For Every Turn, A Candle For Every Corner And An Anchor For Every Storm. You Have Everything You Need.

All Of My Books Began As Sermons, So Really The Heart Of The Message Is Still The Same.

If We Can Understand That Death Is Not The End But Is Really A Transition Into The Next Life, The Great Part Of Life, That Frees Us Up Into Receiving God's Courage And His Help.

I Would Guess That About 75% Of My Stories Are Like That - Personal Experiences That I Probably Over-milk.

Personal Experiences

Trust God's Love. His Perfect Love. Don't Fear He Will Discover Your Past. He Already Has. Don't Fear Disappointing Him In The Future. He Can Show You The Chapter In Which You Will. With Perfect Knowledge Of The Past And Perfect Vision Of The Future, He Loves You Perfectly In Spite Of Both.

Visions Of The Future

Here's What You Need To Keep In Mind. You No Longer Have Yesterday. You Do Not Yet Have Tomorrow. You Have Only Today. This Is The Day The Lord Has Made. Live In It.

When You Give A Gift To One Of God's Children, You Give A Gift To God.

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

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

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

No Person Is Too Hardened.

It's Against God's Nature To Remember Forgiven Sins

Refusing To Forgive Is Like Ingesting A Lethal Dose Of Poison And Hoping It Kills My Enemy.

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

Nothing Fosters Courage Like A Clear Grasp Of Grace... & Nothing Fosters Fear Like An Ignorance Of Mercy

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.

Let's Be The People Who Look At The Hurting Until We Hurt With Them. No Hurrying Past, Turning Away, Or Shifting Of Eyes. No Pretending Or Glossing Over. Let's Look At The Face Until We See The Person.

God Meets Our Needs One Day At A Time.

Fredrick Buechner Kind Of Loosened Up My Clerical Collar, You Might Say.

God Has Work For You To Do.

I Don't Like Hassles. But I Love Christmas Because It Reminds Us How "god Causes Everything To Work Together For The Good Of Those Who Love God" (rom. 8:28 Nlt).

Working Together

God Will Use Your Mess For Good. We See A Perfect Mess; God Sees A Perfect Chance To Train, Test , And Teach.

Gratitude Lifts Our Eyes Off The Things We Lack So We Might See The Blessings We Possess.

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