Quotes from Max Lucado

God owns everything and gives us all things to enjoy. He is a good shepherd to us, his little flock. Trust him, not stuff. Move from the fear of scarcity to the comfort of provision. Less hoarding, more sharing. "Do good . . . be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share.

You represent a challenge to Satan's plan. You carry something of God within you, something noble and holy, something the world needs—wisdom, kindness, mercy, skill. If Satan can neutralize you, he can mute your influence.

What is this love that endures decades, passes on sleep, and resists death to give one kiss? Call it agape love, a love that bears a semblance of God's.

failures are not fatal. It's not that he loves what you did, but he loves who you are. You are his. The One who has the right to condemn you provided the way to acquit you. You make mistakes. God doesn't. And he made you.

If Jesus heals you instantly, praise him. If you are still waiting for healing, trust him. Your suffering is your sermon.

Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarai gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace, David is pardoned. And just when the road is too dark for Mary and Mary, the angel glows and the Savior shows and the two women will never be the same. The lesson? Three words. Don't give up.

Love God more than you fear hell. Make major decisions in a cemetery. When no one is watching, live as if someone is. Succeed at home first. Don't spend tomorrow's money today. Pray twice as much as you fret. God has forgiven you; you'd be wise to do the same.

Be anxious for nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Is this what he meant? Not exactly. He wrote the phrase in the present active tense, which implies an ongoing state. It's the life of perpetual anxiety that Paul wanted to address. The Lucado Revised Translation reads, Don't let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst. The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.

There are times when God sends thunder to stir us. There are times when God sends blessings to lure us. But then there are times when God sends nothing but silence as he honors us with the freedom to choose where we spend eternity.

If you see your troubles as nothing more than isolated hassles and hurts, you'll grow bitter and angry. Yet if you see your troubles as tests used by God for his glory and your maturity, then even the smallest incidents take on significance.

You are never more like Jesus than when you pray for others.

Rather than ask God to change your circumstances, ask him to use your circumstances to change you. Life is a required course. Might as well do your best to pass it.

the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

To live as God's child is to know, at this very instant, that you are loved by your Maker not because you try to please him and succeed, or fail to please him and apologize, but because he wants to be your Father. Nothing more. All your efforts to win his affection are unnecessary. All your fears of losing his affection are needless. You can no more make him want you than you can convince him to abandon you. The adoption is irreversible. You have a place at his table.

Contrary to what we'd hope, good people aren't exempt from violence. Murderers don't give the godly a pass. Rapists don't vet victims according to spiritual résumés. The bloodthirsty and wicked don't skip over the heavenbound. We aren't insulated. But neither are we intimidated. Jesus has a word or two about this brutal world: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Matt. 10:28).

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life" (Prov. 4:23 NCV). Do you want to be happy tomorrow? Then

Repeat it to yourself over and over until it trumps the voices of fear and angst. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in your, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over your with singing (Zeph. 3:17 NIV)

Pieces don't fit. Wine runs out. Water bottles burst. These are facts of life. But Jesus responds with this invitation: "Bring your problems to me.

Christ-followers contract malaria, bury children, and battle addictions, and, as a result, face fears. It's not the absence of storms that sets us apart. It's whom we discover in the storm: an unstirred Christ.

Worry divides the mind. The biblical word for worry (merimnao) is a compound of two Greek words, merizo ("to divide") and nous ("the mind"). Anxiety splits our energy between today's priorities and tomorrow's problems. Part of our mind is on the now; the rest is on the not yet. The result is half-minded living.

Each star, numbered. Each star, named! Like every grain of sand. Every hair on his head. Every trouble that filled his day. Created. Numbered. Known.

Personally? I think there's more going on around us than we realize. I think God uses even the bad and ugly things in this world to lead us to a good place.

Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff...Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread.

He took on your face in the hope that you would see his.