Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer    (p. 12). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Back when I was in 3 rd grade at Light and Life Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona we had to bring our own lunches to school.   And I was always excited on the days that we didn’t bring our lunch because Dad was going to go to the new McDonalds on Central Ave and bring us a hamburger and french fries.   It was so exciting to see him coming. My sister and I would run to Dad.   It was so great. Now when he came I didn’t say: “Father, it is most gracious of thee to drive thy car to my place of education and provide me this middle of the day nourishment. Please know of my deep gratitude for your benevolence. For thou art splendid in thy attentive care and diligent in thy dedication.”   No, I didn’t say that.   I said, “Thanks, Dad.   This is so great...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer (p. 6). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Max continues the thought, “Not a lecture on prayer. Not the doctrine of prayer. He gave them a quotable, repeatable, portable prayer (Luke 11:1–4).”   “Could you use the same? It seems to me that the prayers of the Bible can be distilled into one. The result is a simple, easy-to-remember, pocket size prayer: “Father, you are good. I need help. Heal me and forgive me. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.” Max then says, “Let this prayer punctuate your day. As you begin your morning, Father, you are good. As you commute to work or walk the hallways at school, I need help. As you wait in the grocery line, They need help . Keep this prayer in your pocket as you pass through the day. He goes on, “Prayer, for most of us, is not a matter of a month-long retreat or even an...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer (p. 3). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’m glad that I am not the only one who wants to know more about the peculiar puzzle of prayer. Max says, “We aren’t the first to struggle. The sign-up sheet for Prayer 101 contains some familiar names: the apostles John, James, Andrew, and Peter. When one of Jesus’ disciples requested, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’ (Luke 11:1 NIV), none of the others objected. No one walked away saying, ‘Hey, I have prayer figured out.’ The first followers of Jesus needed prayer guidance. “In fact, the only tutorial they ever requested was on prayer. They could have asked for instructions on many topics: bread multiplying, speech making, storm stilling. Jesus raised people from the dead. But a ‘How to Vacate the Cemetery’ seminar? His followers never called for one. But they did want him to do this: ‘Lord, teach...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, When God Whispers Your Name (p. 198). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Do you like your name?   If you could change your name, what would you change it to?   Max says, “Well, you may not have known it, but God has a new name for you. When you get home (heaven), he won’t call you Alice or Bob or Juan or Geraldo. The name you’ve always heard won’t be the one he uses. When God says he will make all things new, he means it. You will have a new home, a new body, a new life, and you guessed it, a new name.” Revelation 2:17 in the Bible says, “I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give to each one who wins the victory a white stone with a new name written on it. No one knows this new name except the one who receives it” Max says, “Makes sense. Fathers are fond of giving their children special names. Princess. Tiger. Sweeth...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, When God Whispers Your Name (p. 133). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Stop and think, is there an alarm going off in your world right now?   How are you handling it?   Are you ignoring it, or blaming others for it or are you asking what do I do?   If you're asking then Max says there are three questions for you. He says, “ 1. Is there any unconfessed sin in my life? “’There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration. . . . My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them’ (Ps. 32:3–5 TLB). “(Confession is telling God you did the thing he saw you do. He doesn’t need to hear it as much as you need to say it. Whether it’s too small to be mentioned or  too big to be forgiven isn’t yours to decide. Y...