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. 14). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Yes, you did, you messed up. Max says, “You messed up yesterday. You said the wrong words, took the wrong turn, loved the wrong person, reacted the wrong way. You spoke when you should have listened, walked when you should have waited, judged when you should have trusted, indulged when you should have resisted.” He then says, “But you’ll mess up more if you let yesterday’s mistakes sabotage today’s attitude. God’s mercies are new every morning. Receive them. Learn a lesson from the Cascade forests of Washington State. Some of its trees are hundreds of years old, far surpassing the typical lifespan of fifty to sixty years. One leaf-laden patriarch dates back seven centuries! What makes the difference? Daily drenching rains. Deluges keep the ground moist, the trees wet, a...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But that is what we do so much of the time, isn’t it? Max says, “We do to our day what I did to a bike ride. My friend and I went on an extended hill-country trek. A few minutes into the trip I began to tire. Within a half hour, my thighs ached and my lungs heaved like a beached whale. I could scarcely pump the pedals. I’m no Tour de France contender, but neither am I a newcomer, yet I felt like one. After forty-five minutes I had to dismount and catch my breath. That’s when my partner spotted the problem. Both rear brakes were rubbing my back tire! Rubber grips contested every pedal stroke. The ride was destined to be a tough one.” He goes on, “Don’t we do the same? Guilt presses on one side. Dread drags the other. No wonder we weary so. We sabotage our day, wiring it...

A thought by Steven Furtick from his book, Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus (p. 91). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Maybe you need to be reminded of that fact today. Steven says, “Let me repeat that: If you are a child of God, then no matter how abandoned or lonely you may feel, God has been with you and he’s with you right now. “You see, when we come to God, we come through the way that Jesus has already made. We come through the way of the cross. We don’t have to sweat drops of blood in a garden; he’s already sweat those drops for us. We don’t have to feel spikes going through our feet and hands because he’s already endured that pain. And we don’t have to be separated from God either. Not now. Not ever. “Jesus experienced abandonment from his Father so that we never have to. Because he was forsaken, we never have to be.” Steven goes on...