UpWords with Max Lucado

[Judy Harder]

No Child Ever Leaves God's Sight
We taught our kids the Bible, but they have left God. What happened? We thought if we trained them in God's Word, they would not depart from him. Isn't that what the Bible says?

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6 NKJV)

Be careful with this verse. Don't interpret it to mean "If I put my kids on the right path, they'll never leave it. If I fill them full of Scripture and Bible lessons and sermons, they may rebel, but they'll eventually return."

The proverb makes no such promise. Salvation is a work of God. Godly parents can prepare the soil and sow the seed, but God gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:6). Moms and dads soften hearts but can't control them.

Show them the path? Yes.
Force them to take it? No.

At moments in my own life I stood at the crossroads of the path and even took a few steps down the wrong one. One thing always brought me back—that inner compass shown to me by my Christ-loving parents.

No child ever leaves God's sight. A child may turn his back on God or try to hide from his sight. But leave God's view? Impossible. God has his eye on every child of his.

The Holy Spirit will follow your child down every back road, every dark alley, every dead end and always remind him of the foundation of belief you showed him—the road back home.

My wife shares this verse with the parents of prodigals. It is a good one for you: "The Lord says, 'This is my agreement with these people: My Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you or your children or your grandchildren, now and forever'" (Is. 59:21 NCV).



From Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2011) Max Lucado

[Judy Harder]

Week of June 1

Necessitites of Life
Max on Life #145

The following is a one of 172 questions and answers from the new book, Max on Life.

QUESTION #145:
In most of my prayers I ask God for things I need each day. These are legitimate needs. (I'm not asking God to make me a millionaire, just to help me pay the mortgage.) Is God really concerned about the necessities of my life?

"Give us each day our daily bread" (Luke 11:3).

What is this daily bread Jesus spoke of, tucked inside the Lord's Prayer? A loaf of warm Italian bread on my doorstep every morning? That would be nice.

Bread is a staple of every culture. From flat bread to yeast-filled loaves, grain has been mixed with water and oil and placed over a fire by every civilization. What's the first thing a restaurant brings before the meal? Bread. (Okay, maybe Mexican restaurants don't, but those chips are made from grain. They're just fried in oil.)

But how about a slight change to the daily menu: "Give us this day our daily mocha chocolate chip ice cream" or "Give us this day our daily beluga whale caviar"?

Those are luxuries, not necessities. Sorry, God does not promise those.

Bread is a valued necessity, tasty and welcomed, but certainly not extravagant.

Jesus tells us to ask for the necessities in life, but does he promise to provide them?

Soon after this plea for daily bread, found also in Matthew 6, Jesus presents his famous "Don't worry" passage: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (v. 25). God takes care of birds, flowers, and grass and provides the basics they need to exist (vv. 26–30). Why not us? Aren't we more important than a barn swallow, a multiflora petunia, and a blade of Bahia grass?

You bet a loaf of sweet sourdough we are.

In that statement comes a promise from God to provide his most important creation on earth with food, clothing, and drink (vv. 25–34). The necessities once again.

Jesus tells us to ask, then promises to give us the basics we need to survive.

So don't worry; be prayerful. God has something wonderful for us baking in the oven. Can you smell it?

NEW Book!
MAX ON LIFE:
Answers and Insights to your Most Important Questions
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2011) Max Lucado

[Judy Harder]

Living Water

Today's MP3

It's estimated our bodies are 80% fluid.  Apart from brains, bones, and a few organs, we're walking water balloons!

Stop drinking water and see what happens.  Coherent thoughts vanish.  Skin gets clammy, and vital organs wrinkle.

Eyes need fluid to cry.  Your mouth needs moisture to swallow and your joints need fluid to stay lubricated.  Your body needs water the same way tires need air!

God wired you with thirst–a "low-fluid indicator."  Let your fluid level grow low, and watch the signals flare.  Dry mouth.  Achy head.   Weak knees.  Deprive your body of fluid and your body will tell you.  Deprive your soul of spiritual water, and your soul will tell you.

Dehydrated hearts send desperate messages:  Snarling tempers.  Waves of worry.

Jesus said, "if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink.  He who believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water! John 4:14″

From Come Thirsty

[Judy Harder]

No One Compares to Him

Today's MP3

Psalm 89:6 asks the question: "Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord?"

And the answer is, any pursuit of God's counterpart is vain.  No one and nothing compares to him.  No one advises him.  No one helps him.  You and I may have power.  But God IS power.

Unlike the potter who takes something and reshapes it, God took nothing and created something.  God created everything that exists by divine fiat.  John said in Revelation, "You, God created all things, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.  Revelation 4:11″

Even God asks, "To whom will you compare me?"  As if his question needed an answer, he gives one:  "I am God–I alone.  I am God.  There is no one else like me! Isaiah 46:4-9″

We're blessed to be his children.  We can only stand humbly before him and praise his glorious name!

From Live Loved

[Judy Harder]

Week of June 29

Today I Will Make a Difference

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble... . I will get up. It's OK to fail... . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

[Judy Harder]

Week of July 6

Judas, The Man Who Never Knew

I've wondered at times what kind of man this Judas was. What he looked like, how he acted, who his friends were.

I guess I've stereotyped him. I've always pictured him as a wiry, beady-eyed, sly, wormy fellow, pointed beard and all. I've pictured him as estranged from the other apostles.

Friendless. Distant. Undoubtedly he was a traitor and a quisling. Probably the result of a broken home. A juvenile delinquent in his youth.

Yet I wonder if that is so true. We have no evidence (save Judas's silence) that would suggest that he was isolated. At the Last Supper, when Jesus said that his betrayer sat at the table, we don't find the apostles immediately turning to Judas as the logical traitor.

No, I think we've got Judas pegged wrong. Perhaps he was just the opposite. Instead of sly and wiry, maybe he was robust and jovial. Rather than quiet and introverted, he could have been outgoing and well-meaning. I don't know.

But for all the things we don't know about Judas, there is one thing we know for sure: He had no relationship with the Master. He had seen Jesus, but he did not know him. He had heard Jesus, but he did not understand him. He had a religion but no relationship.

As Satan worked his way around the table in the upper room, he needed a special kind of man to betray our Lord. He needed a man who had seen Jesus but who did not know him. He needed a man who knew the actions of Jesus but had missed out on the mission of Jesus. Judas was this man. He knew the empire but had never known the Man.

Judas bore the cloak of religion, but he never knew the heart of Christ.

We learn this timeless lesson from the betrayer. Satan's best tools of destruction are not from outside the church; they are within the church. A church will never die from the immorality in Hollywood or the corruption in Washington. But it will die from corrosion within—from those who bear the name of Jesus but have never met him and from those who have religion but no relationship.

Judas bore the cloak of religion, but he never knew the heart of Christ. Let's make it our goal to know ... deeply.

From Shaped by God (original title: On the Anvil)
Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002) Max Lucado

[Judy Harder]

Week of July 13

When God Whispers Your Name
by Max Lucado

The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
—John 10:3

WHEN I SEE a flock of sheep I see exactly that, a flock. A rabble of wool. A herd of hooves. I don't see a sheep. I see sheep. All alike. None different. That's what I see.

But not so with the shepherd. To him every sheep is different. Every face is special. Every face has a story. And every sheep has a name.The one with the sad eyes, that's Droopy. And the fellow with one ear up and the other down, I call him Oscar. And the small one with the black patch on his leg, he's an orphan with no brothers. I call him Joseph.

The shepherd knows his sheep. He calls them by name.

When we see a crowd, we see exactly that, a crowd. Filling a stadium or flooding a mall. When we see a crowd, we see people, not persons, but people. A herd of humans. A flock of faces. That's what we see.

But not so with the Shepherd. To him every face is different. Every face is a story. Every face is a child. Every child has a name. The one with the sad eyes, that's Sally. The old fellow with one eyebrow up and the other down, Harry's his name. And the young one with the limp? He's an orphan with no brothers. I call him Joey.

The Shepherd knows his sheep. He knows each one by name. The Shepherd knows you. He knows your name. And he will never forget it. I have written your name on my hand (Isa. 49:16).

Quite a thought, isn't it? Your name on God's hand. Your name on God's lips. Maybe you've seen your name in some special places. On an award or diploma or walnut door. Or maybe you've heard your name from some important people—a coach, a celebrity, a teacher. But to think that your name is on God's hand and on God's lips . . . my, could it be?

Or perhaps you've never seen your name honored. And you can't remember when you heard it spoken with kindness. If so, it may be more difficult for you to believe that God knows your name.

But he does. Written on his hand. Spoken by his mouth. Whispered by his lips. Your name. And not only the name you now have, but the name he has in store for you. A new name he will give you . . .

When God Whispers Your Name is a book of hope. A book whose sole aim is to encourage. I've harvested thoughts from a landscape of fields. And though their size and flavors are varied, their purpose is singular: to provide you, the reader, with a word of hope. I thought you could use it.

You've been on my mind as I've been writing. I've thought of you often. I honestly have. Over the years I've gotten to know some of you folks well. I've read your letters, shaken your hands, and watched your eyes. I think I know you.

You're busy. Time passes before your tasks are finished. And if you get a chance to read, it's a slim chance indeed.

You're anxious. Bad news outpaces the good. Problems outnumber solutions. And you are concerned. What future do your children have on this earth? What future do you have?

You're cautious. You don't trust as easily as you once did.

Politicians lied. The system failed. The minister compromised. Your spouse cheated. It's not easy to trust. It's not that you don't want to. It's just that you want to be careful.

There is one other thing. You've made some mistakes. I met one of you at a bookstore in Michigan. A businessman, you seldom came out of your office at all and never to meet an author. But then you did. You were regretting the many hours at work and the few hours at home and wanted to talk.

And the single mom in Chicago. One kid was tugging, the other crying, but juggling them both, you made your point. "I made mistakes," you explained, "but I really want to try again."

And there was that night in Fresno. The musician sang and I spoke and you came. You almost didn't. You almost stayed home. Just that day you'd found the note from your wife. She was leaving you. But you came anyway. Hoping I'd have something for the pain. Hoping I'd have an answer. Where is God at a time like this?

And so as I wrote, I thought about you. All of you. You aren't malicious. You aren't evil. You aren't hardhearted, (hardheaded occasionally, but not hardhearted). You really want to do what is right. But sometimes life turns south. Occasionally we need a reminder.

Not a sermon.

A reminder.

A reminder that God knows your name.

From When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado

[Judy Harder]

Taking out the Trash

Who wants to live with yesterday's rubble?  Who wants to hoard the trash of the past?  You don't, do you?  Or do you?

I'm not talking about the trash in your house, but in your heart.  Not the junk of papers and boxes but the remnants of anger and hurt.  Do you rat-pack your pain?  Amass offenses?  Record slights?

A tour of your heart might be telling.  A pile of rejections.  Accumulated insults.  No one can blame you.  They're innocence takers, promise breakers, and wound makers.  They're everywhere and you've had your share.

Jesus answered Peter's question in Matthew 18:21 and 22 when he asked:  "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?"  "No, not seven times," Jesus said.  "Seventy times seven!"

Do you want to give every day a chance?  Jesus says to get rid of the trash.  Give the grace you've been given!

[Judy Harder]

 
Romans 3:23  says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Worry is falling short on faith.  Impatience is falling short on kindness.  The critical spirit falls short on love.

So, how often do you sin, hmm... in an hour?  For the sake of discussion, let's say ten times an hour.  Ten sins an hour, times sixteen waking hours, times 365 days a year, times the average life span of 74 years.  I'm rounding the total off to 4,300,000 sins per person!  How do you plan to pay God for your 4.3 million sin increments?  You're swimming in an ocean of debt.

But God pardons the zillion sins of selfish humanity.  He forgives sixty million sin-filled days.  He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where He always wanted us to be.  And He did it by the grace of Jesus Christ.

[Judy Harder]

Weed Hunts

God's love sprouts around us like lilacs, but we go on weed hunts!  How many flowers do we miss in the process? If you look long enough, you'll find something to bellyache about.  So quit looking!

Lift your eyes off the weeds.  Collect your blessings.  Catalog His kindnesses.  Assemble your reasons for gratitude.  "Always be joyful" is what Paul tells us in  1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 .  "Pray continually and give thanks, whatever happens.  This is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus."

Gratitude is always an option.  Make it your default emotion and you'll find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life.  Who knows what you might record in your journal:

Mondays.  Oh boy–my favorite!

Final exams.  I can hardly wait!

"Impossible," you say?  How do you know?

How do you know until you give the day a chance?  Thank God!