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. 87). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Fear can be a terrible thing to feel, can’t it?   But there is something to understand about fear. Max says, “The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. Even Christ was afraid (Mark 14:33). But make your fear a visitor and not a resident. Hasn’t fear taken enough? Enough smiles? Chuckles? Restful nights, exuberant days? Meet your fears with faith. “Do what my father urged my brother and me to do. Summertime for the Lucado family always involved a trip from West Texas to the Rocky Mountains. (Think Purgatory to Paradise.) My dad loved to fish for trout on the edge of the white-water rivers. Yet he knew that the currents were dangerous and his sons could be careless. Upon arrival, we’d scout out the safe places to cross the river. He’d walk u

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 74). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) The twelve Apostles were having a rotten day.   They had a whole bunch of people who had been sitting on a hillside listening to Jesus for a long time and the people were getting hungry.   And the Apostles were becoming frustrated because they had a problem and didn’t know what to do.    Maybe that is you today. Max says, “How unnecessary! If your father were Bill Gates and your computer broke, where would you turn? If Stradivari were your dad and your violin string snapped, to whom would you go? If your father is God and you have a problem on your hands, what do you do?" Max goes on, “Scripture tells us what to do:  “ Is your problem too large? ‘God…is able…to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think’ (Ephesians 3:20 nlt). “Is your need too grea

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 innocen