Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado (2012-02-06) from his book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear (p. 46). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Here is the whole paragraph that Max puts this thought.   It says, “Jesus doesn’t condemn legitimate concern for responsibilities but rather the continuous mind-set that dismisses God’s presence. Destructive anxiety subtracts God from the future, faces uncertainties with no faith, tallies up the challenges of the day without entering God into the equation. Worry is the darkroom where negatives become glossy prints.”   Wow! He goes on, “A friend saw an example of perpetual uneasiness in his six-year-old daughter. In her hurry to dress for school, she tied her shoelaces in a knot. She plopped down at the base of the stairs and lasered her thoughts on the tangled mess. The school bus was coming, and the minutes were ticking, and she gave no thought to the fact that her father was standing n

A thought by Max Lucado (2012-02-06) from his book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear (p. 38). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But Max doesn’t stop there.   He then says, “And nothing fosters fear like an ignorance of mercy.”   And that is where so many people live.   And maybe that is true of you. He goes on, “May I speak candidly? If you haven’t accepted God’s forgiveness, you are doomed to fear. Nothing can deliver you from the gnawing realization that you have disregarded your 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,

A thought by Max Lucado (2012-02-06) from his book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear (p. 25). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Do you feel that way?   Do you fear that you don’t matter?   Do you?   Listen, it is a very powerful fear.   It really is. Max says, “The fear that you are one big zero will become a self-fulfilling prophecy that will ruin your life. It works like this.” He goes on, “You’re slugging away at a menial job that pays poorly and saps your energy. The salary covers the bills but nothing more. Your God-given abilities languish like unwatered roses. But then you read of a job opening that capitalizes on your skills, maximizes your abilities. So in a moment of uncharacteristic courage, you submit your application. The employer invites you in for an interview. That’s when the mentality of the Tribe of the Too Smalls returns. ‘I’ll never impress them,’ you moan. ‘I’ll look stupid in the intervi