Max Lucado - Everyday Blessings: 365 Days of Inspirational Thoughts

Copyright 2004 by Max Lucado

Published by J. Countryman, a division, of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.

Compiled and edited by Terri Gibbs

Editorial Supervision: Karen Hill, Administrative Editor for Max Lucado

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this book are from the New Century Version (NCV) 1987, 1988, 1991 by W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee 37214. Used by permission. Other Scripture references are from the following sources: New American Standard Bible (NASB) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1977 by the Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission. The New International Version of the Bible (NIV) 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. The Living Bible (TLB) 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. Used by permission. The Message 1993, NavPress Publishing Group. Used by permission. The New King James Version (NKJV) 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publisher. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV) 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. The Good News Bible: The Bible in Today's English Version (TEV) 1976 by the American Bible Society. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation(NLT) 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, III. All rights reserved.

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CONTENTS

God always
applauds what
is right

God is our protection and our strength.

He always helps in times of trouble.

PSALM 46:12

E ver feel as if you need, to get away? So did Jesus. (Mark 1:35).

Ever have so many demands that you can't stop for lunch? He can relate. (Mark 6:31)....

Do your friends ever let you down? When Christ needed help, his friends dozed off. (Matt. 26:40)....

When you turn to him for help, he runs to you to help. Why? He knows how you feel. He's been there....

So go to him.

The heavens tell the glory of God.

PSALM 19:1

I f you were the only person on earth, the earth would look exactly the same. The Himalayas would still have their drama and the Caribbean would still have its charm. The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evenings and spray light on the desert in the mornings. If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe, God would not diminish its beauty one degree.

Because he did it all for you.

I call to you in times of trouble, because you will answer me.

PSALM 86:7

Y ou can talk to God because God. listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter His presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God, and He listens.

Thank GOD! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits.

PSALM 136:1, THE MESSAGE

I f I know that one of the privileges of fatherhood is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?

Why do I think he wouldn't want to hear about my problems? ("They are puny compared to people starving in India.") Why do I think he is too busy for me?

If we love one another, God lives
in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 JOHN 4:12, NIV

G od loves you. Personally. Powerfully. Passionately. Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded. He loves you with an unfailing love. And His loveif you will let itcan fill you and leave you with a love worth giving.

I know those I have chosen.

JOHN 13:18

W ould you choose a wanted murderer to lead a nation out of bondage? Would you call upon a fugitive to carry the Ten Commandments? God did.... Called his name through a burning bush. Scared old

The reassuring lesson is clear. God... uses people to change the world. People! Not saints or superhumans or geniuses, but people.

Though he was God, he did not
demand and cling to his rights as God.

PHILIPPIANS 2:6, NLT

N eed more patience? Drink from the patience of God (2 Pet. 3:9). Is generosity an elusive virtue? Then consider how generous God has been with you (Rom. 5:8). Having trouble putting up with ungrateful relatives or cranky neighbors? God puts up with you when you act the same. "He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked" (Luke 6:35, NIV).

Can't we love like this?

In Christ there is all of God in a human body.

COLOSSIANS 2:9, TLB

J esus was not a godlike man, nor a manlike God. He was God-man The maker of the world with a bellybutton....

What do we do with such a person? We applaud men for doing good things. We enshrine God for doing great things. But when a man does God things?

One thing is certain, we can't ignore him. Why would we want to?

Ask, and God will give to you.

Search, and you will find.

MATTHEW 7:7

C ountless copies of scripture sit unread on bookshelves and nightstands simply because people don't know how to read it. What can we do to make the Bible real in our lives?

The clearest answer is found in the wordsof Jesus. "Ask and God will give it to you."The first step in understanding the Bible isasking God to help us.

Christ died for sins once for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

1 PETER 3:18, NIV

T he path of righteousness is a narrow,winding trail up a steep hill. At the top of thehill is a cross. At the base of the cross arebags. Countless bags full of innumerable sins.Calvary is the compost pile of guilt. Would you like to leave yours there as well?

The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.

LUKE 19:10, NCV.

G od will do what it takeswhatever it takes-to bring his children home.

He is the shepherd in search of His lamb.His legs are scratched, His feet are sore, andHis eyes are burning. He scales the cliffs andtraverses the fields. He explores the caves.He cups His hands to His mouth and callsinto the canyon.

And the name He calls is yours.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.

ROMANS 15:7, NIV

G race makes three proclamations.

Dealing with my sins is God's responsibility. I repent, I confess, but only God can forgive. (And he does.)...

Dealing with my neighbor is God's responsibility. I must speak; I must pray. But only God can convince. (And he does.)...

God loves me and makes me his child. God loves my neighbor and makes him my brother.