Lucado - Let the journey begin: finding Gods best for your life

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Let the Journey Begin

2009 by Max Lucado

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New Century Version. 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.

Scripture quotations marked NEB are taken from THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE. 1961, 1970 by The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press. Reprinted by permission.

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Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Scripture quotations marked PHILLIPS are taken from J. B. Phillips: THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH, 1962 edition by HarperCollins.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible. 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE. 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7180-3049-0

ISBN-13: 978-0-7180-3879-3 (eBook)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEEP IN EVERY HEART YOU will find it: a longing for meaning, a quest for purpose.

If you ask the secularists, What is the meaning of life? they will say, We dont know. At best they might agree that we are developed animals. At worst, rearranged space dust.

What a contrast to Gods vision for life: We are Gods handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to devote ourselves to the good deeds for which God has designed us (Ephesians 2:10 NEB).

God has placed his hand on your shoulder and said, Youre something special.

Untethered by time, he sees us all. In fact, he saw us before we were born.

And he loves what he sees. Flooded by emotion. Overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says, You are my child. I love you dearly.

And he loves us forever. Should you ever turn from him and walk away, he has already provided a way back. Nothing can separate you from his love. If you anchor these truths firmly in your heart, you will be ready for whatever you may encounter on the road ahead.

So let the journey begin!

Max Lucado

WHAT A GOD!

Ponder the achievement of God.

He doesnt condone our sin,

nor does he compromise his standard.

He doesnt ignore our rebellion,

nor does he relax his demands.

Rather than dismiss our sin, he assumes

our sin and, incredibly, sentences himself.

Gods holiness is honored.

Our sin is punished... and we are redeemed.

God does what we cannot do so we can be

what we dare not dream: perfect before God.

IN THE GRIP OF GRACE

THE KEY QUESTION IN LIFE IS NOT HOW STRONG AM I? BUT RATHER HOW STRONG IS GOD?

OCCUPY YOURSELF WITH THE NATURE of God, not the size of your biceps...

Thats what God told Moses to do. Remember the conversation at the burning bush? The tone was set in the first sentence. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground (Exodus 3:5). With these eleven words Moses is enrolled in a class on God. Immediately the roles are defined. God is holy. Approaching him on even a quarter-inch of leather is too pompous... No time is spent convincing Moses what Moses can do, but much time is spent explaining to Moses what God can do.

You and I tend to do the opposite. We would explain to Moses how he is ideally suited to return to Egypt... Then wed remind Moses how perfect he is for wilderness travel... Wed spend time reviewing with Moses his rsum and strengths.

But God doesnt. The strength of Moses is never considered. No pep talk is given, no pats on the backs are offered. Not one word is spoken to recruit Moses. But many words are used to reveal God. The strength of Moses is not the issue; the strength of God is.

The Great House of God

NAILS DIDNT HOLD GOD TO A CROSS. LOVE DID.

CAN ANYTHING MAKE ME STOP loving you? God asks. Watch me speak your language, sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts. Behold the maker of sight and sound as he sneezes, coughs, and blows his nose. You wonder if I understand how you feel? Look into the dancing eyes of the kid in Nazareth; thats God walking to school. Ponder the toddler at Marys table; thats God spilling his milk.

You wonder how long my love will last? Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill. Thats me you see up there, your maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding. Covered in spit and sin-soaked. Thats your sin Im feeling. Thats your death Im dying. Thats your resurrection Im living. Thats how much I love you.

In the Grip of Grace

YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY CHANGING YOUR HEART.

THINK OF IT THIS WAY. Sin put you in prison. Sin locked you behind the bars of guilt and shame and deception and fear. Sin did nothing but shackle you to the wall of misery. Then Jesus came and paid your bail. He served your time; he satisfied the penalty and set you free. Christ died, and when you cast your lot with him, your old self died too.

The only way to be set free from the prison of sin is to serve its penalty. In this case the penalty is death. Someone has to die, either you or a heaven-sent substitute. You cannot leave prison unless there is a death. But that death has occurred at Calvary. And when Jesus died, you died to sins claim on your life. You are free.

In the Grip of Grace

THOUGH WE WERE SPIRITUALLY DEAD BECAUSE OF THE THINGS WE DID AGAINST GOD, HE GAVE US NEW LIFE WITH CHRIST.

EPHESIANS 2:5

AS YOUNGSTERS, WE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS would play street football. The minute we got home from school, wed drop the books and hit the pavement. The kid across the street had a dad with a great and a strong addiction to football. As soon as hed pull in the driveway from work wed start yelling for him to come and play ball. He couldnt resist. Out of fairness hed always ask, Which team is losing? Then he would join that team, which often seemed to be mine.

His appearance in the huddle changed the whole ball game. He was confident, strong, and most of all, he had a plan. Wed circle around him, and hed look at us and say, Okay, boys, here is what we are going to do. The other side was groaning before we left the huddle. You see, we not only had a new plan, we had a new leader.