UpWords with Max Lucado

[Judy Harder]

More Dinghy than Cruise Ship?

Are you more dinghy. . .than cruise ship? Or in my case, more blue jeans than blue blood? Well congratulations, God changes the world with folks like you!

The next time you say, "I don't think God could use me!"—stop right there!  Satan's going to try to tell you that God has an IQ requirement.  That he employs only experts and high-powered personalities.  When you hear Satan whispering that lie—hit him with this:  God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds.  Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store!

But what they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, "Follow me."

So what do you think?  More plumber than executive?  More stand-in than movie star? Yeah—congratulations!  God uses people like you...and me.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  Matthew 16:24″

From Max on Life

[Judy Harder]

Confession

Today's MP3

Confession!  It's a word that conjures up many images—some not so positive.

Confession isn't telling God what he doesn't know.  That's impossible.  It's not pointing fingers at others without pointing any at me.  That may feel good, but it doesn't promote healing. Confession is a radical reliance on grace—a trust in God's goodness.  The truth is, confessors find a freedom that deniers don't!

Scripture says,  "If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right.  He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done. John 1:8-9″

Tell God what you did.  Again, it's not that he doesn't already know, but the two of you need to agree!  Then let the pure water of grace flow over your mistakes!

From GRACE

[Judy Harder]

 Spiritual MRI

What would an X-ray—an MRI—of your soul reveal?  Regrets over teenage relationships?  Remorse over a poor choice?  You become moody, cranky.  You're angry, irritable.  Understandable, you have shame lodged in your soul.

Interested in an extraction?  Confess.  Request a spiritual MRI.  Psalm 139: 23-24 is just that:

"Search me, O God and know my heart;
try me, and know my anxieties;
and see if there's any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."

We need a prayer of grace-based confession.

God, I've done what you say is wrong. 
Would you wash away my guilt and make me clean again.

No chant or candle needed.  Just an honest prayer of confession.  Try it!

From GRACE

[Judy Harder]

Where Healing Happens

Find a church congregation that believes in confession.  Avoid a fellowship of perfect people—you won't fit in anyway. Seek one where members confess their sins and show humility, where the price of admission is simply an admission of guilt.

Healing happens in a church like this.  Jesus said, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."  (Matthew 6:14-15).  Jesus also said, "If we say we have no sin, we're fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what's right.  He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done." (I John 1:8-10)

Not— He might cleanse us, He could, would, or has been known to cleanse us.  He WILL cleanse us!  Oh the sweet certainty of His words!

From GRACE

[Judy Harder]

God Knows More

A young woman wrote to me,  "My boyfriend and I split up.  I applied for a job and was rejected.  Is God even listening to me?

You need to know that God knows more about life than we do! And, yes, He's listening!  One day, my then six-year old said she wanted me leave the ministry.  "I just really wish you sold snow cones!"  An honest request from an honest heart.  To her the happiest people in the world were the guys who drove the snow-cone trucks. I heard her request, but I didn't heed it.  Why?  Because I know more about life than she did.

Same with God. God hears our requests.  But His answer isn't always what we'd like it to be.  Because He knows more about life than we do?  Don't panic.  Don't bail out.  Talk to your heavenly Father.  He's still in control!

"Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down." Philippians 4:6-7

From Max on Life

[Judy Harder]

 
Tough Questions

by Max Lucado

Some questions aren't always easy to answer.  Maybe that's the way it should be!  Here's just that kind of question:

"I get tired of hearing people brush aside troubles with the platitude in Romans 8:28, 'All things work together for good.' Isn't saying that cruel?"

The verse says, "We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him."  I think it's one of the most helpful, comforting verses in the entire Bible.  It announces God's sovereignty in any painful, tragic situation we face. Why?  Because we know God is at work for our good!  He uses our struggles to build character.

So what do we do?  We trust.  Totally!  And we remember. . .God is working for the good.  Yes, any verse can be misused, but that doesn't make it useless!

[Judy Harder]

The Mother-in-Law

by Max Lucado

Someone once asked me, So what do I do about my mother-in-law?  Let's just say, she's taken "critical and judgmental" to a whole new level!

Just saying, "my mother-in-law" gets a chuckle every time.  I wonder if in mother-in-law circles they laugh when they hear "the son-in-law?"  Your mother-in-law may be hard to get along with.  But the fact is, you can't change her, but you can change the way you see her.

For starters, stop looking at what drives you up the wall. Look for a quality worthy of your attention.  Is she generous?  A great cook?  And pray for her.  It's hard to stand before God and speak horribly about someone He loves!  You may not change your mother-in-law, but it'll change your attitude toward her.  Who knows? Maybe she'll start to change when you start to see her differently!

[Judy Harder]

 
Two-Thousand Times More Effective

by Max Lucado

Two-thousand years ago the disciples of Jesus started a movement that changed the world.  Are we still changing the world?  We can.  We can be two-thousand times more effective—if we only try!

Here's an example.  There are 145 million orphans worldwide.  Nearly 236 million of us living in the U.S. call ourselves Christian.  From a purely statistical standpoint, by ourselves, we have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world.  There's enough food on the planet to feed the hungry!  But the storehouse is locked.

God has given our generation everything we need to alter the course of human suffering. Change must start with us!  With our transformation!  Ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever!  We can be more effective—if only we try!

[Judy Harder]

Holiness
by Max Lucado

John the Baptist would never get hired today. No church would touch him. He was a public relations disaster.

Mark 1:6 says he "wore clothes of camel's hair and ate locusts and wild honey."

His message was as rough as his dress. A no-nonsense, bare-fisted challenge to repent because God was on His way.  No, John's style wasn't smooth. He made few friends and lots of enemies, but what do you know?  He made hundreds of converts. How do you explain it?  It certainly wasn't his charisma, nor his money or position—for he had neither.  Then what did he have?  One word:  Holiness.

Holiness seeks to be like God. You want to make a difference in your world?  Live a holy life.  Be faithful to your spouse. Pay your bills. Be the employee who does the work and doesn't complain. Don't speak one message and live another!  Just be God in your world.

"...as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." (I Peter 1:15-16)

From:  A Gentle Thunder

[Judy Harder]

The Mind of Christ

by Max Lucado

The heart of Jesus was spiritual. Our hearts seem so far from His.  He is pure.  We are greedy. He is peaceful; we are hassled. He is purposeful; we are distracted. How could we ever hope to have the heart of Jesus?

Ready for a surprise? You already do.  You already have the heart of Christ. Would I kid you?  One of the supreme promises of God is simply this:  if you've given your life to Jesus, Jesus has given Himself to you.

The Apostle Paul explains it in 1 Corinthians 2:16: "Strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ."

The same one who saved your soul longs to remake your heart. His plan is nothing short of a total transformation. Let's fix our eyes on Jesus. Perhaps in seeing Him, we will see what we can become!