Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 34). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) You don’t want to do you?   I mean after a while it can really stink. Max says, “Not in your house, mind you, but in your heart? Not the junk of papers and boxes, but the remnants of anger and hurt. Do you pack-rat pain? Amass offenses? Record slights? “A tour of your heart might be telling. A pile of rejections stockpiled in one corner. Accumulated insults filling another. Images of unkind people lining the wall, littering the floor. “No one can blame you. Innocence takers, promise breakers, wound makers—you’ve had your share. Yet doesn’t it make sense to get rid of their trash? Want to give every day a chance? Jesus says: Give the grace you’ve been given. ” Max also understands what you feel, “’But, Max, the hurt is so deep.’ I know. They took much. Your inn...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 29). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Yes, it is, it always is. Max says, “Matthew Henry made it his. When the famous scholar was accosted by thieves and robbed of his purse, he wrote this in his diary: ‘Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, although they took my all, it was not much; and, fourthly, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.’” Max goes on, “Make gratitude your default emotion, and you’ll find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life.” He says, “Need spice in your day? Thank God for every problem that comes down the pike. Is any situation so dire that gratitude is eliminated? Some of the ladies at the Women of Faith Conference thought it was. This great organization fills a...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 27). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Max goes on, “Nothing blows the winter out of the day like the Caribbean breeze of thankfulness. Need some trade winds?” He says, “When Paul sent Timothy off to spiritual university, he told him to major in the grace of God: ‘You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus’ (2 Timothy 2:1 nkjv, emphasis mine). Do the same. Focus on the cross of Christ. Grow fluent in the language of redemption. Linger long at the foot of the cross. Immerse yourself in the curriculum of grace. It’s so easy to be distracted. So easy to be ungrateful, to make the mistake of Scott Simpson’s caddie. “Scott is a professional golfer who plays often at the Masters Golf Tournament, hosted by the Augusta National Golf Club. Augusta National is to golfers what the Smithsonian...