Max lucado quotes

No one can pray and worry at the same time. When we worry, we aren't praying. When we pray, we aren't worrying.

God gives us people to love and things to use, not things to love and people to use.

Worry is irrelevant. It alters nothing. When was the last time you solved a problem by worrying about it?

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

God loves you simply because He has chosen to do so. He loves you when you don't feel lovely. He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you always. No matter what!

Jesus humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary's finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier. Why? Because that's what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.

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.

You'll regret opening your mouth. You'll rarely regret keeping it shut.

Don't be defined by your failures, be refined by them.

‎Mark it down: God loves you with an unearthly love. You can't win it by being winsome. You can't lose it by being a loser. But you can be blind enough to resist it

Find joy in the ordinary.

Because of Bethlehem, I have a friend in heaven.

God is God. He knows what he is doing. When you can’t trace his hand, trust his heart.

Meet your fears with faith.

You weren't an accident. You weren't mass produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman.

Be patient. God is using today's difficulties to strengthen you for tomorrow. He is equipping you. The God who makes things grow will help you bear fruit.

What if you woke up this morning and had only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

Waiting is an expectant patience. It's a patience that says, "I don't know what God is going to do, but I know God is going to do something."

Though you see nothing, he is acting.

The meaning of life. The wasted years of life. The poor choices of life. God answers the mess of life with one word: 'grace.'

When you recognize God as Creator, you will admire Him. When you recognize His wisdom, you will learn from Him. When you discover His strength, you will rely on Him. But only when He saves you will you worship Him.

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.

Gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack so we might see the blessings we possess.

You're never without hope, because you're never without prayer.

Refusing to forgive is like ingesting a lethal dose of poison and hoping it kills my enemy.

God can't fill you when you are already full of yourself.

The difference between mercy and grace? Mercy gave the prodigal son a second chance. Grace gave him a feast.

The great promise of Scripture is that every day is a day that's worth rejoicing in.

When you're full of yourself, God can't fill you. But when you empty yourself, God has a useful vessel.

If you knew that only a few would care that you came, would you still come? If you knew that those you loved would laugh in your face, would you still care? If you knew that the tongues you made would mock you, the mouths you made would spit at you, the hands you made would crucify you, would you still make them? Christ did.

Gratitude is a mindful awareness of the benefits of life. It's the greatest of virtues. Studies have linked the emotion with a variety of positive effects. Grateful people tend to be more empathetic and forgiving of others. People who keep a gratitude journal are more likely to have a positive outlook on life. Grateful individuals demonstrate less envy, materialism, and self-centeredness. Gratitude improves self-esteem and enhances relationships, quality of sleep, and longevity.

The Christmas message itself is that God chooses common people to do the most uncommon things. No matter how common you are, and no matter how simple you are, God has a plan and ability to come into our world and do something unusual.

Anxiety and fear are cousins but not twins. Fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one.

Don't see yourself as a product of your parents DNA, but rather as a brand new idea from heaven.

As we meditate on Christ's life, we find strength for our own.

When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment.

Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realising you were the prisoner!

God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors and blemishes. But He also sees our value.

The church is never a place to show off. Do your good deeds quietly. Serve; don't seek to be seen

God does uncommon things through common people in common places.

Engage with the Bible. Meditate on it day and night. Think and rethink about God's Word. Let it be your guide. Make it your go-to book for questions. Let it be the ultimate authority in your life.

No one can pray and worry at the same time.

People are watching the way we act, more than they are listening to what we say.

We're important, but not essential; valuable, but not indispensable. We have a part in the play, but we are not the main act. A song to sing, but we are not the featured voice. God is.

Don't equate the presence of God with a good mood or a pleasant temperament. God is near whether you are happy or not.

Love the one who wears your ring. And cherish the children who share your name. Succeed at home first.

God is always near us. Always for us. Always in us.

Don't quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers.

God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way.

Focus on giants - you stumble. Focus on God - Giants tumble.

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.

Love like there's no tomorrow, and if tomorrow comes, love again.

But it is in storms that God does his finest work, for it is in storms that God has our keenest attention

God must've had a blast. painting the stripes on the zebra, hanging the stars in the sky, putting the gold in the sunset. What creativity! Stretching the neck of the giraffe, putting the flutter in the mockingbird's wings, planting the giggle in the hyena. And then, as a finale to a brilliant performance, He made a human who had the unique honour to bear the stamp, In His Image.

You are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done - but simply because you are.

Don't measure the size of the mountain; talk to the One who can move it.

For all its peculiarities and unevenness, the Bible has a simple story. God made man. Man rejected God. God won't give up until he wins him back. God will whisper. He will shout. He will touch and tug. He will take away our burdens; he'll even take away our blessings. If there are a thousand steps between us and him, he will take all but one. But he will leave the final one for us. The choice is ours. Please understand. His goal is not to make you happy. His goal is to make you His. His goal is not to get you what you want; it is to get you what you need.

Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.

You may go days without thinking of God, but there's never a moment when He's not thinking of you.

If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light your path?

Prayer is the window that God has placed in the walls of our world. Leave it shut and the world is a cold, dark house. But throw back the curtains and see His light. Open the window and hear His voice. Open the window of prayer and invoke the presence of God in your world.

Don't worry about having the right words; worry more about having the right heart. It's not eloquence he seeks, just honesty.

When all of earth turns against you, all of heaven turns toward you.

God is able to accomplish, provide, help, save, keep, subdue... He is able to do what you can't. He already has a plan. God's not bewildered. Go to Him.

Two types of voices command your attention today. Negative ones fill your mind with doubt, bitterness, and fear. Positive ones purvey hope and strength. Which one will you choose to heed?

The people who make a difference are not the ones with the credentials but the ones with the concern.

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's highest desire is not to make us rich, successful or popular. His goal is to make us His

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.

Regardless of the circumstances that surrounded your arrival, you are not an accident. God planned you before you were born.

The life of Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of mercy, a message of life in a dark world.

God meets daily needs daily. Not weekly or annually. He will give you what you need when it is needed.

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.

Nails didn't hold God to a cross. Love did.

The next time you're disappointed, don't panic. Don't give up. Just be patient and let God remind you He's still in control.

God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.

When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now?

You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you.

If there are a thousand steps between us and God, He will take all but one. He will leave the final one for us. The choice is ours.

Every other religion is a salvation by self, Christianity is a salvation by Christ.

The mind that is full of God is empty of anxiety. Are you troubled, restless, sleepless? Then think of God more!

God has enough grace to solve every dilemma you face, wipe every tear you cry, and answer every question you ask.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Give your problems to Christ before your problems get to you.

The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you'll ever get to God.

Stay strong! Your test will become your test-imony, your mess will become your mess-age.

Faith is the bird that sings while it is yet dark.

Never underestimate the power that comes when a parent pleads with God on behalf of a child.

Rather than seeking total control, relinquish it. You can't run the world, but you can entrust it to God. This is the message behind Paul's admonition to "rejoice in the Lord." Peace is within reach, not for lack of problems, but because of the presence of a sovereign Lord. Rather than rehearse the chaos of the world, rejoice in the Lord's sovereignty, as Paul did. Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

We exist to exhibit God, to display his glory. We serve as canvases for his brush stroke, papers for his pen, soil for his seeds, glimpses of his image.

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. Do you want to be happy tomorrow? Then sow seeds of happiness today -count blessings, memorize Bible verses, pray, sing hymns, spend time with encouraging people. Do you want to guarantee tomorrow's misery? Then wallow in a mental mud pit of self-pity or guilt or anxiety today assume the worst, beat yourself up, rehearse your regrets, complain to complainers.

God answers the mess of life with one word: Grace.

The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.

Resentment is when you allow what’s eating you to eat you up. Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist. Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter. And mercy is the choice that can set them all free.

No place is too common. No person is too hardened. No distance is too far. There's no person God cannot reach. There's no limit to his love.

Faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life and He will get us through it.

When we put someone in our jail cell of hatred, we are stuck guarding the door.

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

Lower your expectations of earth. This isn't heaven, so don't expect it to be.

Christ entered our world. As a result, we can enter His.

Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!

God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them.

First, God does not send people to hell. He simply honors their choice. Hell is the ultimate expression of God's high regard for the dignity of man. He has never forced us to choose Him, even when that means we would choose Hell.

He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. God tapped humanity on its collective shoulder, "Pardon me," he said, and eternity interrupted time, divinity interrupted carnality, and heaven interrupted the earth in the form of a baby. Christianity was born in one big heavenly interruption.

Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.

Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, "I can clean that if you want." And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes away our sin.

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something

On the eve of the cross, Jesus made his decision. He would rather go to hell for you than go to heaven without you.

The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that is a fact. So if you need to brag, brag about that.

Courage does not panic; it prays. Courage does not bemoan; it believes. Courage does not languish; it listens

I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness, I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

A little rain can straighten a flower stem. A little love can change a life.

If you knew Jesus was coming tomorrow, what would you do today? Then do it!

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day.

Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leave you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing, and listen as Heaven whispers, "Do you like it? I did it just for you."

Conflict is inevitable but combat is optional.

God's love has a width, length, height, and depth, but we will never reach the end of it. Our capacity to experience God's love will be exhausted long before God's capacity to give it is strained. The picture of having Christ dwell inside us by faith presents us with compelling and comforting possibilities. What Christ does in us and through us will always be 'exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.'

There is a difference between grace and mercy. Mercy is the decision of God not to punish us. But grace is the decision of God to save and bless us.

There are many things in life over which you have no choice. But the greatest activity of life is well within your dominion. You can choose what you think about. You can be the air traffic controller of your mental airport. You occupy the control tower and can direct the mental traffic of your world. Thoughts circle above, coming and going. If one of them lands, it's because you gave it permission. If it leaves, it's because you directed it to do so. You can select your thought pattern.

Changing directions in life is not tragic. Losing passion in life is.

The key is this: Meet today's problems with today's strength. Don't start tackling tomorrow's problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow's strength yet. You simply have enough for today.

God's mercies are new every morning. Receive them.

Christmas begins what Easter celebrates. The child in the cradle became the king on the cross. And because he did, there are no marks on my record. Just grace. His offer has no fine print. He didn't tell me, "Clean up before you come in." He offered, "Come in, and I'll clean you up." It's not my grip on him that matters but his grip on me. And his grip is sure. So is his presence in my life.

A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.