I was about 21 when I read that [Mere Christianity], and my faith was really being shaken during those days. Its a great, classic book.
Max LucadoMichael Jordan once said that the most peaceful moments of his life were on a basketball court, because that's the only place he knew exactly what to do. And to me the most peaceful moments in my ministry are in the pulpit because that's when I really know what I'm going to do.
Max LucadoChrist lived the life we could not live and took the punishment we could not take to offer the hope we cannot resist.
Max LucadoYour 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.
Max LucadoWhen a Christian stops growing, help is needed. If you are the same Christian you were a few months ago, be careful.
Max LucadoWe are Jesus Christ's; we belong to him. But even more, we are increasingly him. He moves in and commandeers our hands and feet, requisitions our minds and tongues. We sense his rearranging: debris into the divine, pig's ear into silk purse. He repurposes bad decisions and squalid choices. Little by little, a new image emerges.
Max LucadoGrace is God as heart surgeon, cracking open your chest, removing your heart - poisoned as it is with pride and pain - and replacing it with his own.
Max LucadoI choose goodness... I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
Max LucadoI do believe that leaders have to be held to a higher standard, especially Christian leaders. I put myself in that camp.
Max LucadoI'm thinking, "What difference will this sermon make in their lives tomorrow? What am I trying to give them that will make a difference?" For example, had to do with the theme that Jesus will not let go of you. He's holding onto you. I talked to them about the disciples and Peter on the night before the crucifixion of Christ - how Jesus said that all of you are going to turn away, but He would be waiting for them in Galilee.
Max LucadoI think the hardest one had to do with suffering. It had to do with all of our church members and friends passing through difficult times. Sometimes it's the global climate: tsunamis, earthquakes, radiation. I think these kinds of questions are absolutely the most difficult, yet we need to be ready to respond to them because we have to be able as pastors to walk people through these valleys, these tough times in their lives.
Max LucadoWe (Christians) are always in the presence of God. There is never a non-sacred moment! His presence never diminishes. Our awareness of His presence may falter, but the reality of His presence never changes.
Max LucadoBe 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.
Max LucadoIt's important to preach like there's a broken heart on every pew. That's always been a phrase that stuck with me. Not everybody is having a tough time, but you can bet your buck that there's a good tenth of your church that's going through a hard season. There really is a broken heart on every pew.
Max LucadoGod created marriage. No government subcommittee envisioned it. No social organization developed it. Marriage was conceived and born in the mind of God.
Max LucadoThe 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.
Max LucadoMy first encounters with faith came about the time I was a Boy Scout, at about 14 or 15. I made the logical deduction that they operate the same way; I treated my faith like earning a merit badge, and everything about Christianity was about earning merit badges.
Max LucadoI would not have said anything about Mr. Trump, never - I would never have said anything if he didn't call himself a Christian. It'd be none of my business whatsoever to make any comments about his language, his vulgarities, his slander of people, but I was deeply troubled ... that here's a man who holds up a Bible one day, and calls a lady "bimbo" the next.
Max LucadoAnd we need to share our story. Not with everyone but with someone. There is someone who is like you were. And he or she needs to know what God can do. Your honest portrayal of your past may be the courage for another's future.
Max LucadoIt's nothing mystical, necessarily. It's nothing secretive. It's just what we do with our body we do with our soul.
Max LucadoI see that a lot in my own life and in the lives of others.Does the presence of pain mean the absence of God?
Max LucadoThe magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be.
Max LucadoFredrick Buechner kind of loosened me up, hes got a little irreverency to him and I have a little too much reverancy.
Max LucadoWhen we submit to God's plans, we can trust our desires. Our assignment is found at the intersection of God's plan and our pleasures.
Max LucadoIn our faith we follow in someone's steps. In our faith we leave footprints to guide others. It's the principle of discipleship
Max LucadoYou 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.
Max LucadoOne of the things I discover a lot in marriage counseling is the husband or wife trying to get their spiritual thirst quenched by their partner; I think that's a real common mistake that we make.
Max LucadoTo the loved, a word of affection is a morsel; but to the love-starved, a word of affection can be a feast.
Max Lucado