UpWords with Max Lucado

[Judy Harder]

Make a Choice

Maybe your past isn't much to brag about. Maybe you've seen raw evil—and now you have to make a choice. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?

Healthy bodies.  Sharp minds.  But retired dreams.  Back and forth they rock in the chair of regret.  Lean closely and you'll hear them.

If only I'd been born somewhere else. . .

If only I'd been treated fairly. . .

If only I'd had more opportunities. . .if only. . .

Put down the scrapbook of your life and pick up the Bible.  Read Jesus' words in John 3:6: "Human life comes from human parents but spiritual life comes from the Spirit."

God has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. You have a choice in the path you take.

Choose well!

[Judy Harder]

We Are Valuable

Today's MP3
Value is now measured by two criteria: appearance and performance.  Where does that leave the ugly or uneducated?  Where hope does that offer the unborn child? The aged?  The handicapped? Not much at all. We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists.

This is man's value system.  But it is not God's.  His plan is much brighter.  In God's book man is heading somewhere.  He has an amazing destiny.

We're being prepared to walk down the church aisle and become the bride of Jesus. We're going to live with him.  Share the throne with him. We count.  We're valuable.

Jesus' love does not depend on what we do for him. If there was anything that Jesus wanted everyone to understand it was this: A person is worth something simply because he is a person. That's why Jesus treated people the way he did.

You have value simply because you are!

You are His.

From Cast of Characters

[Judy Harder]

Jesus Honors You

You are valuable just because you exist! Remember that the next time some trickster tries to hang a bargain basement price tag on your self-worth.

Just think about the way Jesus honors you—and smile!  I do.  I smile because I know I don't deserve a love like that.  None of us do.

When you get right down to it, any contribution any of us makes is pretty puny. All of us, even the purest of us, deserve heaven about as much as that crook on the cross did.

It makes me smile to think there's a grinning thief walking the golden streets of heaven who knows more about grace than a thousand theologians.

No one else would have given the thief on the cross a prayer. But in the end that is all he had. And in the end, that is all it took!

No wonder they call Jesus the Savior. 

[Judy Harder]

See By Faith


On the wall of a concentration camp, a prisoner had carved the following words:

"I believe in the sun, even though it doesn't shine.

I believe in love, even when it isn't shown.

I believe in God, even when he doesn't speak."

What hand could have cut such a conviction?  What eyes could have seen good in such horror? There's only one answer:  Eyes that chose to see the unseen.

Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 4:18: "We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see.  What we see will only last a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever."

We can see either the hurt or the Healer.

Mark it down. God knows you and I are blind.  He knows living by faith and not by sight doesn't come naturally.  He will help us.  Accept his help.

Either live by the facts or see by faith!

[Judy Harder]

Week of November 16

Why Did Jesus go to the Wedding?

Why would Jesus, on his first journey, take his followers to a party? Didn't they have work to do? Didn't he have principles to teach? Wasn't his time limited? How could a wedding fit with his purpose on earth?

Why did Jesus go to the wedding?

The answer? It's found in the second verse of John 2. "Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding."

Jesus wasn't invited because he was a celebrity. He wasn't one yet. The invitation wasn't motivated by his miracles. He'd yet to perform any. Why did they invite him?

I suppose they liked him.

Big deal? I think so. I think it's significant that common folk in a little town enjoyed being with Jesus. I think it's noteworthy that the Almighty didn't act high and mighty. The Holy One wasn't holier-than-thou. The One who knew it all wasn't a know-it-all. The One who made the stars didn't keep his head in them. The One who owns all the stuff of earth never strutted it.

Jesus could have been all of these, but he wasn't. His purpose was not to show off but to show up. He went to great pains to be as human as the guy down the street. He didn't need to study, but still went to the synagogue. He had no need for income, but still worked in the workshop. He had known the fellowship of angels and heard the harps of heaven, yet still went to parties thrown by tax collectors. And upon his shoulders rested the challenge of redeeming creation, but he still took time to walk ninety miles from Jericho to Cana to go to a wedding.

As a result, people liked him. Oh, there were those who chaffed at his claims. They called him a blasphemer, but they never called him a braggart. They accused him of heresy, but never arrogance. He was branded as a radical, but never called unapproachable.

His faith made him likable, not detestable. Would that ours would do the same!

[Judy Harder]

Week of November 23

Second Chances

It was small enough to overlook. Only two words. I know I'd read that passage a hundred times. But I'd never seen it.

But I won't miss it again. It's highlighted in yellow and underlined in red. You might want to do the same. Look in Mark, chapter 16. Get your pencil ready and enjoy this jewel in the seventh verse (here it comes). The verse reads like this: "But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

Did you see it? Read it again. (This time I italicized the words.)

"But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee."

Now tell me if that's not a hidden treasure.

If I might paraphrase the words, "Don't stay here, go tell the disciples," a pause, then a smile, "and especially tell Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee."

What a line. It's as if all of heaven had watched Peter fall—and it's as if all of heaven wanted to help him back up again. "Be sure and tell Peter that he's not left out. Tell him that one failure doesn't make a flop."

Whew!

No wonder they call it the gospel of the second chance.

Those who know these types of things say that the Gospel of Mark is really the transcribed notes and dictated thoughts of Peter. If this is true, then it was Peter himself who included these two words! And if these really are his words, I can't help but imagine that the old fisherman had to brush away a tear and swallow a lump when he got to this point in the story.

It's not every day that you get a second chance. Peter must have known that. The next time he saw Jesus, he got so excited that he barely got his britches on before he jumped into the cold water of the Sea of Galilee. It was also enough, so they say, to cause this backwoods Galilean to carry the gospel of the second chance all the way to Rome where they killed him. If you've ever wondered what would cause a man to be willing to be crucified upside down, maybe now you know.

It's not every day that you find someone who will give you a second chance—much less someone who will give you a second chance every day.

But in Jesus, Peter found both.

[Judy Harder]

We Like Sheep

by Max Lucado • November 6

Sheep aren't smart. They tend to wander into running creeks for water, then their wool grows heavy and they drown. They have no sense of direction. They need a shepherd to lead them to calm water.

So do we! We, like sheep, tend to be swept away by waters we should have avoided. We have no defense against the evil lion who prowls about seeking whom he might devour.

Isaiah 53:6 reminds us, "We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way."  We need a shepherd to care for us and to guide us. And Jesus is that Good Shepherd. The Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. The Shepherd who protects, provides, and possesses his sheep. The Psalmist says: The Lord is my shepherd!  The imagery is carried over to the New Testament as Jesus is called the good shepherd of the sheep!

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15"

From A Gentle Thunder

[Judy Harder]

Who is God?

So who is God? Can I trust Him to take care of me? How much time do you have?

The weather changes—but God is UN-changing! Fashion changes. Even change changes. But Hebrews 6:17 says God is always the same—yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

So can we trust God? Is He powerful enough? You and I are limited—I think that goes without saying! One sneeze in my direction, and I'm contaminated, sick with a cold and out for a week. No one can soil or stain God. No sin contaminates Him.

We're limited by brain capacity, time, relationship overload, and responsibilities—you can only be at one soccer game at a time after all! And patience! But God? He has no limit to his time, power, knowledge and love.

Check it out for yourself in Psalms 147:4-5

He counts the stars
and names each one.
Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.

So—can God take care of you? I'll let you answer that!

From Max on Life

[Judy Harder]

He Makes a Difference


We get what sin is.  But, what we struggle with is how to make up for it? 

To put it simply—we're not good enough!  If I lose my temper in traffic, can I make up for it by waving at the next four cars?  If I'm greedy one year, how many years should I be generous?

The truth is, I don't know the answer to those questions. There's no price list.  No rule sheet.   Is God some kind  of heavenly deal broker who sells packages of grace?  Is that the kind of God we have?  Is that the kind God we want?  Actually, God's standard is much higher.

Romans 3:23 says, we fall short of the glory of God.  Way short!  We're not good enough—but He is!  It's Christ in us that makes the difference!

From Max on Life

[Judy Harder]

The Forgiveness of Christ

Nov 28, 2012

The dilemma was:  "I know the Bible says I'm forgiven.  But my conscience says I'm not!"

If this question hits home... If you haven't accepted God's forgiveness, you're doomed to live in fear.  And no pill or pep talk can set you at ease.  Am I right?  You may deaden the fear, but you can't remove it.  Only God's grace can do that!

Have you accepted the forgiveness of Christ?  If not, do it!  The Bible says "if we confess our sins, God is faithful–not just to forgive us, but He cleanses us from all unrighteousness! I John 1:9″

Make it your simple prayer:  Dear Father, I need forgiveness.  I admit I've turned away from you.  Forgive me, please.  I place my soul in Your hands and I trust in your grace.  Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now!  Live forgiven!

From Max on Life