MAX ON LIFE

33. My pastor offers to visit the sick and anoint them with oil. Sounds like voodoo to me. What do you think?

Sounds to me like your pastor is reading the Bible.

"Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises. Anyone who is sick should call the church's elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person in the name of the Lord. And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen." (James 5:13-16)

James envisions a person in need of help A body in pain, a mind in torment, even a heart broken. His prescription? The prayers, touch, and tears of an elder. The suffering person is not told to call a friend, deacon, evangelist, or miracle worker; he is told to call an elder. He's not told to attend a rally or a seminar or a crusade; he is told to seek his spiritual shepherds. James urges the suffering member to call elders. It's a voluntary step. No coercion. No persuasion. A wounded sheep calls his shepherds, and they come to pray.

This verse is the earliest mention of elders in the Christian church. It is no coincidence that the earliest mention of elders involves prayer. Prayer is their chief function. Just as the apostles gave themselves intently to pray and teach the Word of God (Acts 6:4), so the elders are to do the same today. No feeble prayer, not memorized prayer, but faithful prayer. Prayer rooted in the faith that God is good and he will do what is right.

As a part of their time with the ill, elders hear their honest confessions. The healing of the soul and the body are interrelated. James understood that the culprit behind many physical conditions is unresolved spiritual issues. How many hospital beds are occupied because of guilt, worry, anger, hatred, bigotry? Many are sick, not because of an infection, but because of a defection of the Spirit.

Consider the power of this moment! A willing member in honest confession submits to the thunderbolt of prayerful elders.

As the elders pray for the sick, they anoint them with oil. In the Old Testament, oil represented the presence of the Holy Spirit. When a person is touched with oil, two wonderful things occur. First, the power of the Holy Spirit is sought, and, second, the sick person is touched.

If you have ever endured a lengthy illness, you know the significance of human touch. If you have studied the Bible, you know the preeminence of laying on of hands. Jesus often associated laying on of hands with healing. He laid his hand on the man at Bethsaida twice before he fully recovered his sight (Mark 8:22-25). On the island of Malta the apostle Paul laid hands on the sick, and they were healed (Acts 28:7-10). Jesus said of his followers, they will touch the sick, and they will be healed (Mark 16:18).

Healing prayer should neither be elevated nor neglected, neither worshipped nor dismissed. Healing prayer should be a normal part of living each day under the reign of God.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

32. I just spent the afternoon at the hospital bedside of a dear friend. She just gave birth, and her baby was born with one foot. What purpose does this serve? How can a good God permit such deformities?

Some seasons make no sense. Who can find a place in life's puzzle for the deformity of a child or the enormity of an earthquake's devastation? Do such occurrences serve a purpose?

It helps to see them from an eternal perspective. What makes no sense in this life will make perfect sense in the next. I have proof: you in the womb.

I know you don't remember this prenatal season, so let me remind you what happened. Every gestation day equipped you for your earthly life. Your bones solidified. your eyes developed, the umbilical cord transported nutrients into your growing frame.... for what reason? So you might remain enwombed? Quite the contrary. Womb time equipped you for earth time, suited you up for your post-partum existence.

Some prenatal features went unused before birth. You grew a nose but didn't breath. Eyes developed, but could you see? Your tongue, toenails, and crop of hair served no function in your mother's belly. But aren't you glad you have them now?

Certain chapters in this life seem so unnecessary, like nostrils on the preborn. Suffering. Loneliness. Disease. Holocaust. Martyrdom. If we assume this world exists just for pregrave happiness, these atrocities disqualify it from doing so. But what if this earth is the womb? Might these challenges, severe as they are, serve to prepare us, equip us for the world to come? As Paul wrote, "These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing" (2 Cor 4:17, emphasis mine).

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

31. I work in a cancer hospital. I see patients, especially children, who pray every day for miracles. They struggle so much. What can I tell them?

Tell them that God uses struggles for his glory. The last three years of my dad's life were scarred by ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The disease took him from being a healthy mechanic to being a bed-bound paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles, but he never lost his faith. Visitors noticed. Not so much in what he said but more in what he didn't say. Never outwardly angry or bitter, Jack Lucado suffered with dignity.

His faith led one man to seek a like faith. After my dad's funeral this man sought me out and told me. Because of my dad's example, he became a Jesus follower. Did God orchestrate my father's illness for that very reason?

Knowing the value he places on one soul, I wouldn't be surprised. And imagining the splendor of heaven, I know my father's not complaining.

A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the reward.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

30. Does repentance occur when a person comes to Christ or as a person grows in Christ?

The answer is yes.

When we come to Christ, we turn away from the old life. If we were living in adultery, we get out. If we were cheating on our taxes, we stop. If we were boasting about self, we begin boasting about Christ. Everything we know to do, we try to do.

The problem, however, is that we don't know everything to do. The longer we hang out with Jesus, the more we see what needs to change. Repentance becomes more than an event. It becomes a lifestyle.

My college roommate, Steve Greene, was neat. Not just neat in the sense of a lot of fun but neat in the sense of not sloppy. I, on the other hand, tend to be sloppy. Why make up a bed you're going to sleep in that night?

Before going to college, I promised my mom that I would be neater. And I kept my promise. I repented of my sloppy ways. But when I saw the way Steve lived, I realized that my repentance had a long way to go. One look at our room and you saw the contrast. On his side of the room, you could eat off the floor. On my side of the room, you couldn't see the floor.

Now, Steve was very gracious. He didn't demand that I change, but little by little he helped me change. Every few days I learned something new. I learned the purpose of hangers. The reason for toothpaste lids. I learned that underwear should be worn only once between washings. Our four years of rooming together were four years of regular repentance. Then he turned me over to Denalyn, and she is still working on me

The same thing happens to the Christian. When he comes to Christ, he repents. But as Christ moves in and takes up residence in his life, he sees how sloppy he is. And, over time, his language changes. His habits change. His money management changes. He lives a lifestyle of repentance.

We are always cleaning up our act.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

29. How should I react to poverty? It seems like a huge problem.

Some people are poor because they are lazy. They need to get off their duffs. Others, however, are poor because parasites weaken their bodies, or they spend six hours a day collecting water, or rebel armies ravaged their farms, or AIDS took their parents.

Couldn't such people use a bit of help?

Of course they could. So....

Let the church act on behalf of the poor. The apostles did. "So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers" (Acts 6:2). They assembled the entire church. The problem of inequity warranted a churchwide conversation. The leaders wanted every member to know that this church took poverty seriously. The ultimate solution to poverty is found in the compassion of God's people. Scripture endorses not forced communism but Spirit-led volunteerism among God's people.

Let the brightest among us direct us. "And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility" (v 3).

The first church meeting led to the first task force. The apostles unleashed their best people on their biggest problem. The challenge demands this. "Poverty", as Rich Stearns, president of World Vision in the United States, told me, "is rocket science." Simple solutions simply don't exist. Most of us don't know what to do about the avalanche of national debt, the withholding of lifesaving medicines, the corruption at the seaports, and the abduction of children. Most of us don't know what to do, but someone does!

And one more idea. Get ticked off. Riled up enough to respond. Righteous anger would do a world of good. Poverty is not the lack of charity but the lack of justice. Why do a billion people go to bed hungry every night? Why do nearly thirty thousand children die every day, one every three seconds, from hunger and preventable diseases? It's just not fair. Why not do something about it?

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

By: Max Lucado

WALK WITH CHRIST

Need to encourage someone in their walk with Christ? You can remind them about Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And, how do we prepare and guard ourselves from the onslaught of this world, by taking Scripture to heart, as we read in Joshua 1:7-9, "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you, do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

And, when life seems so heavy that you feel you cannot carry on, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

And, we are confident in our faith and know we can approach God, as instructed in Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

And, we help each other by staying connected, as told in Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

And, as we grow in Christ we will develop a giving heart, and Jesus will honor his promises, as he told us in Luke 6:38, "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

And, in our walk with Christ, his light will shine through us, just like Paul said in Colossians 3:12-17, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothed yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Finally, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughtout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:16-21

MAX ON LIFE

28. Can God use his followers today as he did his first followers? I keep hearing this is what should make us stand out from non-Christians, but I don't think we even begin to compare to those early believers. Why not?

Ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever. We are bright, educated, and experienced. We can travel around the world in twenty-four hours or send a message in a millisecond. We have the most sophisticated research and medicines at the tips of our fingers. We have ample resources. A mere 2 percent of the world's grain harvest would be enough, if shared, to erase the problems of hunger and malnutrition around the world. There is enough food on the planet to offer every person twenty-five hundred calories of sustenance a day. We have enough food to feed the hungry.

And we have enough bedrooms to house the orphans. Here's the math. There are 145 million orphans worldwide. Nearly 236 million people in the United States call themselves Christians. From a purely statistical standpoint, American Christians by themselves have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world.

I don't mean to oversimplify these terrible complicated issues. We can't just snap our fingers and expect the grain to flow across borders or governments to permit foreign adoptions. Policies stalemate the best of efforts. International relations are strained. Corrupt officials snag the systems. I get that.

But this much is clear: the storehouse is stocked. The problem is not in the supply; the problem is in the distribution. God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the course of human suffering.

The problem is not information; the problem is dissemination. We have a complete Bible with all the scripture needed to teach the world and the means to distribute that message verbally, electronically, and in 3-D.

Change needs to begin with the Christians today - just as it started two thousand years ago with the transformation of the apostles, who gave up everything to take the gospel everywhere.

We can be two thousand times more effective, if we only try.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

27. Is God willing to use anyone to change the world? Even people who've lived ungodly lives?

I hope so. If God chose only righteous people to change the world, you could count them all on one finger - Jesus. Instead, he included others in his plan - the sinners, the ungodly, the imperfect, the fearful, the prideful, the truth twisters. There's a lot more of us to choose from.

People like

• Abraham - liar
• Jacob - deceiver
• Moses - murderer, excuse maker
• David - adulterer, murderer
• Solomon - worldly, adulterer
• Elijah - pouting prophet
• Gomer and Rahab - prostitutes
• Matthew - tax collector
• Peter - denier with angry issues

The reassuring lesson is clear. God used (and uses!) people to change the world. People! Not saints or superhumans or geniuses but people. Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars - he uses them all. And what they lack in perfection, God makes up for in love.

If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used, and take heart. No matter who you are or what you've done, God can use you.

Because you're imperfect, you can speak of making mistakes.

Because you're a sinner, you can speak of forgiveness.

God restores the broken and the brittle, then parades them before the world as trophies of his love and strength. The world sees the ungodly turn godly, and they know God must love them too.

By: Max Lucado

Our Christian Walk This Side of Heaven

Take courage, my sisters, God has overcome the world!!!!

We are not of this world, we are just passing through, we are here on a temporary assignment and even though the task may be difficult and there are many obstacles, we set our eyes on our heavenly home, our eternal dwelling place with our Maker and Creator. Truly, in this world, the devil schemes against us, and Scripture (our very own Manual for Godly Living) tells us:

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." (1 Peter 5:8-10)

And also, we are told that the Devil not only schemes against us in our physical world, but also in the spiritual world:

"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:10-12)

So, what are we to do? Our Manual for Godly Living tells us how to guard ourselves:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:13-18)

And we know that, as a father disciplines his children, our Lord puts us to the test, molds us and refines us through fire:

"But we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance: perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3-5)

And through that same Spirit, we develop:

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)

And, though at times we feel we cannot make it, Scripture again tells us:

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:17-18)

And we lift up our countenance to the Lord:

"Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power. The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground." (Psalm 147:1-6)

And we continue in the race to win the prize for which we have been called according to his purpose:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

And we lift each other up, we encourage each other, we fellowship with each other to strengthen our sisterly bond:

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." (Romans 12:9-12)

And finally, we cling to the promise of what is to come:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21: 1-4)

Take courage, my sisters, God has overcome the world!!

MAX ON LIFE

26. I want to become a doctor and work with the poor, but this seems like an impossible dream. My heart tells me this dream is from God, but my parents think I'm being foolish. How do I keep their doubts from destroying my dream?

Let's be honest - there's a lot in life that doesn't make sense.

School. Friends. The news. Politics. Wall Street. Even God's track record in the Bible doesn't make a lot of sense:

• Transporting a million or so people across the desert for forty years to a mysterious promised land (Exodus - Deuteronomy)
• Whittling a thirty-two-thousand-man army down to the three hundred in order to attack the most feared warriors in the land, then arming the tree hundred men with trumpets, jars, and torches (Judg 7:1-16)
• Saving the world through a baby born in a barn (Luke 2:1-7)
• Spreading the gospel to the world with twelve imperfect men - a treasurer who took bribes, a confidant who denied Jesus, and another who preferred to run away naked than get captured (Matt 26:14-16; John 12:4-6; Matt 26:69-75; Mark 14:51-52)

So if someone has a dream that makes perfect sense, it really couldn't be from God. That's not how he dreams!

We forget that impossible is one of God's favorite words. He dreams impossible dreams. Why?

If you accomplish a possible dream, then you get all the glory.

But if you accomplish an impossible dream, then God gets all the glory.

The purpose of impossible dreams is to show the world that an incredible, unbelievable God still exists, and he works in the lives of people.

And it all begins with dreams like yours of reaching the poor and destitute.

While it may seem your parents are dousing your passion with doubt, they could be injecting some much-needed wisdom into your plans for fulfilling your dream. Your parents do love you and want to ensure you make the best decision. So listen to them. Practicality and logic aren't all bad. Doubt may be caution in disguise.

In the end, you must ask yourself whose dream am I going to follow: mine, my parent's or God's? God's dreams are always bigger and better and more unbelievable. His dreams look like these:

• Your neighbors.... your community.... your school coming to Christ
• Churches in your zip code coming together to pray for revival
• An end to hunger and disease in just one country
• Peace on earth

Dare to dream like God.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

24. I suffer from unanswered prayers. What I ask God to do and what He does are two different things.

Think for a moment about God's priority. God exists to showcase God.

Why do the heavens exist? The heavens exist to "declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:1).

Why did God choose the Israelites? Through Isaiah he summoned "everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory" (Isa 43:7).

Why do people struggle? God answers, "I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act" (Isa 48:10-11)

"Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory" (Ps 50"15).

God has one goal: God. To proclaim his glory.

God has no ego problem. He does not reveal his glory for his good. We need to witness it for our good.

He responds to our prayers with this goal in mind. If he says no to our requests, it is because his glory matters more than our preferences.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

23. Can our lives count for Christ if we don't have the calling to be a minister? I try to be faithful in telling others about salvation, especially my grandchildren. Do you think this matters in the long run?

Sounds as if you are doing exactly what a minister does. Paul says in Romans 15:15-20:
"...... because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known."
You don't have to put a collar around your neck, eat at every potluck dinner that comes around, or preach long, boring sermons to be a minister.
According to Paul, ministers
- proclaim the gospel everywhere they go, and
- testify to God's work in their lives.
Paul made a difference. Sounds as if you do too.
Will it matter?
When you arrive in heaven, I wonder if Christ might say these words to you: "I'm so proud that you let me use you. Because of you, others are here today. Would you like to meet them?"
Neighbors, coworkers, friends, strangers, and family members (parents, spouse, children, grandchildren) all step forward.
Even great-grandchildren, whom you never met, are there because your ministered to your kids and to your grandchildren.
Does ministering make a difference? Yes.
Are you a minister? You bet.
Are you making a difference? Absolutely.
And while you're at it, eat at every potluck you can.

By: Max Lucado

Reaching Out

I hope you all are getting familiar with our blogspot and know that we are not in fellowship this is a perfect way to continue staying connecting.  As we get busy with our summer stuff please remember the following prayer:

Dear Lord, help me to put all my busyness aside to spend time with you each day.  I pray that my love for you will supercede any other activity that Ihave planned on any given day.  Thank you for wnating to spend time with me, in Jesus name, Amen.

MAX ON LIFE

22. I have to admit I'm not looking forward to growing old. I've worked in a nursing home for years, and this has only made me dread old age. This attitude doesn't seem to be rational, but I can't seem to accept the inevitable.

"Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people." (Gen 25:7-8)

There's an expression in the Bible that has always fascinated me. When referring to someone's death, it says he died "full of years".

It's used to describe Abraham, Isaac and Job.

"Full of years" could mean lots of years. Abraham and Isaac lived tow of our lifetimes. That's a lot of years.

It could also express the idea that the years of their lives were full, busy with God's packed agenda. Maybe it means they died fulfilling all they set out to accomplish.

I don't know if I would want to live 180 years, but I know I want to live all the years of my life as if they were the last, and do everything I can to make sure they fulfill all God wants me to do.

I want to die fulfilled, having done everything I could with the time I had. If I'm in a nursing home, I want to lead Bible studies, Beatles sing-alongs, and square dances and make sure every resident there has a personal relationship with Christ while the synapses in my brain are still sparking and my hip bones are strong.

Getting old is inevitable. But are you going to hobble and groan your way to the grave or race your rickety old wheelchair downhill to your funeral? We're all going to end up the same way, but we can have fun getting there!

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

21. My dad was a very impatient man. He could make life downright miserable for everyone around him. I think I'm becoming more and more like him, as I'm often impatient with others. I don't want to be like that. What can I do?

You've heard the saying "A watched pot never boils." Well, it does boil, whether you watch it or not. It just doesn't seem to boil fast enough if you're watching. The saying should go like this: "A watched pot makes you boiling mad while you wait for it to boil."

Impatience wants boiling water now! You curse the manufacturer of the pan, bang your fist against those oven bureaucrats, angrily defy the flame and attack the properties of water! But the only thing you can do is turn up the flame. More flame equals faster boil. Burn, baby, burn!

Patience is a slow boil. It doesn't turn up the flame. It waits for the burner to heat the pan, which heats the water to 212 degrees. This takes some time, and you accept that. You can't change the law of heat transference. So you sit back and allow it to happen.

Both situations want the same thing: boiling water. One is willing to wait. The other will use any means necessary to get it done now, including spontaneous combustion.

Impatience is selfishness with time. We don't like to waste it. People get in our way and slow things down, so we burn them with impatience!

The Greek word for patience means "taking a long time to boil." Patience recognizes that we share time with others - it's not just our time. Patience knows other factors are at work in this world and we need to adjust to their time schedules too. Some things can be sped up (with encouragement, not flames of retribution). Some things can't.

The best way to turn down the flame is with love.

"Love is patient" (1 Cor 13:4).

Love forgives laziness. Love understands people's weaknesses. Love wants the best for everyone. Love is a relationship, not a means to an end.

Love is a fruit hanging from the tree of Galatians 5:22. It's the first fruit and some say the most important. The seeds of love produce the harvest of all the other fruits: joy, peace, patience....

If you have the Holy Spirit, then you have the potential of making patience a part of your life. Thankfully, God is patient while you find that patience.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

20. Life is filled with more changes right now than I can handle. I just graduated from high school, I'm moving away to attend college, my boyfriend has left me, and my parents are getting a divorce! I feel as if I'm sinking beneath a sea of change.

Nobody likes change..... except babies. They cry for a change.

The rest of us like small degrees of change but never dramatic, earth-rocking shifts of patterns and routines.

With change comes fear, insecurity, sorrow, and stress. What's the best solution? Hide and hope it all goes away? Never works. Change finds you.

Your cry of sinking beneath a sea of change reminds me of Peter. He and his pals were sailing on calm waters when all of a sudden a storm hit. The winds changed. The waves rose. Not the kind of change a fisherman desires.

"During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost', they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid'. 'Lord, if it's you,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water" (Matt 14:25-28).

When he saw Jesus walking on water, Peter decided to get a little change of scenery; to abandon the ship, and to step out in faith on the water.

The change worked.

" 'Come', he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." (v 29)

It is possible to walk right over the storms of change. Peter proved it! Unfortunately, one other thing changed. Peter's faith.

"But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith', he said, 'why did you doubt?' " (vv 30-31)

Can't really blame Peter for the momentary lapse of security. The wind and waves were scary.

If only Peter had relied on Jesus' strength.... Don't be afraid.

If only Peter had trusted Jesus' command.... Come.

If only Peter had stayed faithful.... Why doubt?

One thing to remember: As Peter sank, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" He knew where to find help.

And Jesus reached out his hand to catch Peter.

That's another thing that never changes. Jesus is always there to pull us to safety.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

19. I honestly don't think God could use me. I believe he forgave me and saved me, but I don't have anything to offer him.

Don't let Satan convince you of this. He will try. He will tell you that God has an IQ requirement or an entry fee. That he employs only specialists and experts, governments and high-powered personalities. When Satan whispers such lies, dismiss him with this truth: God stampeded the first-century society with sway-backs, not thoroughbreds. Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store. Their collars were blue, and their hands were calloused. and there is no evidence that Jesus chose them because they were smarter or nicer than the guy next door. The one thing they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, "Follow me" (Mark 1:16-20).

Are you more dinghy than cruise ship? More stand-in than movie star? More plumber than executive? More blue jeans than blue blood? Congratulations. God changes the world with folks like you.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

18. I find no rest in religion. People talk about church and spirituality as if they are an oasis. In my life, church has been a desert.

You may be confusing Christianity with legalism. Legalism is joyless because legalism is endless. There is always another class to attend, person to teach, mouth to feed. Inmates incarcerated in self-salvation find work but never joy. How could they? They never know when they are finished. Legalism leaches joy.

Grace, however, dispenses peace. The Christian trusts a finished work. I like this quote:

"Gone are the exertions of law-keeping, gone the disciplines and asceticisms of legalism, gone the anxiety that having done everything we might not have done enough. We reach the goal not by the stairs but the lift.... God pledges his promised righteousness to those who will stop trying to save themselves."

Grace offers rest. Legalism never does.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

17. My uncle lived like the devil and made life miserable for my parents, who are godly, humble people. My dad tells me that my uncle got saved just a few hours before he died. Can such an awful person be saved on his deathbed after doing so many terrible things?

Jesus told a parable about workers in a vineyard (Matt 20). Some got hired at the crack of dawn. Others around midmorning. Still others around noon, late afternoon, and then at sunset. All of them received a day's salary.

The early-birds-who-got-the-worm were not happy with this. They wanted the boss to either pay the latecomers less or pay the early risers more. Not all workers deserve to get the same wage, do they? The landowner replied:

"Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?" (Mat 20:13-15)

When we accept salvation from Jesus Christ, we all accept the same deal - eternal life with the Savior of our soul.

So if someone accepts Christ at ten years old or at the age of eighty-five, lying on his deathbed...... what's the difference?

God has the right to give the full amount of salvation to whomever he wants. Are we envious of his generosity? No! His generosity gave us salvation in the first place. We love his generosity. Don't ever change that, God!

The thief on the cross is the best practical example of that generosity.

"In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him." (Matt 27:44)

Both robbers mocked Jesus, hurling insults at him.

Yet as death approached, Luke 23 records a shift. While one thief still cursed, the other defended Christ. What happened? In just a few short hours, the second thief went from angry atheist to repentant sinner. Wasn't Jesus offended, those curse words still ringing in his ears?

"Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise'." (vv 42-43)

Jesus forgave him in the final moments.

The time of forgiveness does not matter. Anytime is the best time to receive Christ and the reward of a lifetime.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

16. If God knew in advance that, after Jesus left heaven for a time, Jesus would be reunited with him and that Jesus' death would save humanity, it doesn't really seem like a sacrifice to me. What did God give up?

I've considered this question, not just since your inquiry but for much of my life. Exactly what did God give up when he gave his Son to the world?

I've decided I cannot know. Why? Because I have never been to heaven. When God gave us his Son, his Son gave up heaven. Try to imagine that sacrifice. What if you were to leave your home and become homeless or leave the human race and become a mosquito or a wasp? Would that be comparable to God's becoming human? Jesus, whose address in heaven was Everywhere, limited himself to a human body in a map-dot town on the fringe of the Roman Empire.

Of course, as you said, he did this "for a time". Maybe that is part of the sacrifice. God is timeless, unbound by clocks or calendars. And for a time he entered time.

But as I said, I've never lived in heaven, and I've never been eternal, so I can't understand what he gave up.

Nor have I been sinless, so I can't imagine what it was like to become sin. This is the heart of the Christian gospel. That he who had no sin took on sin (2 Cor 5:21). That Christ on the cross became a sinner in the eyes of heaven. That he experienced the pain and punishment due to every rapist, thief, mass murderer, and despot.

He paid the price for sin by becoming a sinner. Since I've always been a sinner , I can't appreciate this sacrifice.

And I've never given my child for evil people. I might give myself or a bit of myself to help evil people. But sacrifice one of my daughters? No way. Even if I knew I would see her again, I wouldn't do it. But God did.

It seems to me that God gave more that we could ever ask.

By: Max Lucado

MAX ON LIFE

15. I know the Bible says I'm forgiven. But my conscience says I'm not.

Jesus loves us too much to leave us in doubt about his grace. His "perfect love expels all fear" (1 John 4:18). If God loved with an imperfect love, we would have high cause to worry. Imperfect love keeps a list of sins and consults it often. God keeps no list of our wrongs. His love casts out fear because he casts out our sin!

Tether your heart to this promise, and tighten the knot. "If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things" (1 John 3:20). When you feel unforgiven, evict the feelings. Emotions don't get a vote. Go back to Scripture. God's Word holds rank over self-criticism and self-doubt.

As Paul told Titus, "God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! ..... Tell them all this. Build up their courage" (Titus 2:11, 15). Do you know God's grace? Then you can love boldly, live robustly. You can swing from trapeze to trapeze; his safety net will break your fall.

Nothing fosters courage like a clear grasp of grace.

And nothing fosters fear like an ignorance of mercy. May I speak candidly? If you haven't accepted God's forgiveness, you are doomed to live in fear. Nothing can deliver you from the gnawing realization that you have disregarded our Maker and disobeyed his instruction. No pill, pep talk, psychiatrist, or possession can set the sinner's heart at ease. You may deaden the fear, but you can't remove it. Only God's grace can.

Have you accepted the forgiveness of Christ? If not, do so. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Your prayer can be as simple as this: Dear Father, I need forgiveness. I admit that I have turned away from you. Please forgive me. I place my soul in your hands and my trust in your grace. Through Jesus I pray, amen.

Having received God's forgiveness, live forgiven!

By: Max Lucado