Max Lucado

Grace! It makes all the difference. I like this quote:

Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs but by the lift . . . God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves.

Grace offers rest. Legalism? Never.

Holiday Traditions

Friday at our dinner Mom informed us that they would no longer host the traditional Christmas Eve dinner ... and that if I wanted to continue with it they would be happy but if not....it would end. Wow, I remember this happening with my Grandparents and it was the end of seeing all of my father's family during the Holidays. We would never be that close again. We see some of them at the Huber reunion but very few anymore.

This year I will host Christmas Eve. Prior to this two of my sisters, Barb and Cyndi, had not planned on coming home for Christmas. Would this be the end of the old traditions and the beginning of the new? We will see....it is sad to see the process of aging come so close to home.

I am so thankful that I have my children and grandchildren to ease the transition!

He … loads me with love and mercy Psalm 103:4

By Max Lucado

It’s time to let God’s love cover all things in your life. All the secrets. The hurts. 

The mornings you awoke in the bed of a stranger? His love will cover that. The years you peddled prejudice and pride? His love will cover that. Every promise broken, drug taken, penny stolen. Every cross word, cuss word, and harsh word. His love covers all things.

Let it. Discover along with the psalmist: “He … loads me with love and mercy” (Ps. 103:4). Picture a giant dump truck full of love. There you are behind it. God lifts the bed until the love starts to slide. Slowly at first, then down, down, down until you are hidden, buried, covered in His love.

“Hey, where are you?” someone asks.

“In here, covered in love.”

God inhabits the tiny seed. He empowers the tiny deed. Never discount the smallness of your deeds.

Max Lucado

Pearls of wisdom

To believe we are totally and eternally debt free is seldom easy. We doubt.  And as a result, many are forgiven only a little, not because the grace of God is limited, but because the faith of the sinner is small. God is willing to forgive all. He’s willing to wipe the slate clean.

He invites you to a pool of mercy and invites you to bathe. Plunge in. Don’t just touch the surface. Don’t leave feeling unforgiven.

Where the grace of God is embraced, forgiveness flourishes.

I Peter 5:10 says, “He called you to share in his glory in Christ, a glory that will continue forever.”

And what you’ll discover is—the more you immerse yourself in grace, the more likely you are to give grace.

Max Lucado

Received—Not Earned

Max Lucado

John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

He doesn’t adopt us because of what we have. He doesn’t give us His name because of our intelligence, or our wallet or good attitude.… Adoption is something we receive, not something we earn.

Taking No Chance

By Max Lucado

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God.
Isa. 43:2–3 NASB

With God—chance is eliminated.

God knows what is best. No struggle will come your way apart from his purpose, his presence, and his permission.

Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.”

What encouragement! You are never the victim of nature or the prey of fate. Chance is eliminated. You are more than a weather vane whipped about by the winds of fortune. Would God truly abandon you to the whims of drug-crazed thieves, greedy corporate raiders, or evil leaders? Perish the thought!

You live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King who superintends every circumstance of your life, and delights in doing you good.

Remember this. Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of God’s love.

The letter of the Law kills the grace of God given in Jesus Christ who gives eternal life to all who choose to believe.  Just believe!!

It’s not easy when God doesn’t do what we want, is it? Never has been. Never will be. But faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life and He will get us through it.
A  pearl of wisdom from Max Lucado

I came to give life—life in all its fullness. John 10:10