Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.
They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word "terror." Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?
Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.
Can you imagine your life without fear?
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A Gentle Thunder: Hearing God Through the Storm
How far do you want God to go in getting your attention? Don't answer too quickly. What if God moved you to another land? (As He did Abraham.) What if He called you out of retirement? (Remember Moses?) How about the voice of an angel or the bowel of a fish (Gideon and Jonah.) God does what it takes to get our attention. That's the message of this book: the relentless pursuit of God.
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He Chose the Nails
Linger on the hill of Calvary.
Rub a finger on the timber and press the nail into your hand.
Taste the tinge of cheap wine and feel the scrape of a thorn on your brow.
Touch the velvet dirt, moist with the blood of God.
Allow the tools of torture to tell their story.
Listen as they tell you what God did to win your heart.
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He Still Moves Stone
It's what happens when obstacles prevent you from seeing what God has done for you.
He still moves stones.
People with questions. The Bible is absolutely full of them. A crook on a cross. A wild man in a cemetery. A five-time divorcee. A despondent cripple. A grieving sister. A father at the end of his rope.
Why are these portraits in the Bible? So we can look back in amazement at what Jesus did? No ... these aren't just Sunday school stories. They are historic moments in which a real God met real pain so we could answer the question. "Does God care when I hurt?"
On every page of this powerfully moving book, Max Lucado reminds us, the God who spoke to Moses at the burning bush still speaks loudly to you today. The God who forgave King David still offers you forgiveness. The God who helped men and women in ages past still comes into your world, and he comes to do what you can't, to move the stone away so you can see his answer.
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In the Eye of the Storm
One day in the life of Christ.
Call it a tapestry of turmoil: A noisy pictorial in which the golden threads of triumph knot against the black, frazzled strings of tragedy.
Call it a symphony of emotions: A sunrise-to-sunset orchestration of extremes. One score is brassy with exuberance -- the next moans with sorrow.
Whatever you call it -- call it real. Author Max Lucado calls it "the second most stressful day in the life of our Savior." Before the morning becomes evening Jesus has reason to weep, then run, then shout, the curse, then praise, then doubt. Within a matter of moments his world is turned upside down.
Sound familiar? The pink slip comes. The doctor calls. The divorce papers arrive. The check bounces. The life that had been calm is now chaotic. The world that had been serene is now stormy. Assailed by doubts. Pummeled by demands.
If you've ever wondered if God in heaven can relate to you on earth, then read and re-read this pressure-packed day in the life of Christ. It is the only day, aside from the crucifixion, that all four gospels recorded. Lucado has interwoven their accounts in such a way that you will be assured that God knows how you feel.
And you will be assured that within every torrent there is a calm center -- a place you can stand when your world gets windy.
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It's Not about Me: Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy
Pop culture and psychobabble tell us to make ourselves the center of the universe in order to be happy. Churches have communicated the false idea that God exists to give us all that we selfishly want. In this book, Max Lucado reminds us that it's not about us, it's all about God. It is through this shift in thinking that we can truly live an unburdened, happy life.
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Just Like Jesus
Max Lucado explains that God loves you just the way you are but He refuses to leave you that way. Why? Because our ultimate goal should be a life that is just like Jesus. And with determination, faith and God's help, we can all change for the better, no matter how long the bad habits have settled in.
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Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference
Dear Friend,
May I share a story that is very dear to my heart?
It's a story of hillbillies and simple folk, net casters and tax collectors. A story of a movement that exploded like a just-opened fire hydrant out of Jerusalem and spilled into the ends of the earth: into the streets of Paris, the districts of Rome, and the ports of Athens, Istanbul, Shanghai, and Buenos Aires. A story so mighty, controversial, head spinning, and life changing that two millennia later we wonder:
Might it happen again?
Heaven knows we hope so. These are devastating times: 1.75 billions people are desperately poor; one billion are hungry. Lonely hearts indwell our neighborhoods and attend our schools. In the midst of it all, here we stand: you, me, and our one-of-a-kind lives. We are given a choice an opportunity to make a big difference during a difficult time. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope?
Worth a try, don't you think?
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The Applause of Heaven
A joy that can't be quenched? A peace that can't be broken? A happiness that can't be threatened?
There is such a joy. It is a sacred delight, a holy gladness. You can't open your Bible without reading about it. You can't live a truly satisfying life without it. And it's nearer than you think.
Jesus describes that sacred delight in the astonishing mountain message we now call the Beatitudes. And Max Lucado, in this classic exploration of enduring joy, shows you how this familiar but revolutionary prescription for living can bless your life beyond your wildest imagining.
Imagine God doing what gods would do only in your wildest dreams -- wearing diapers, riding donkeys, washing feet, dozing in storms -- dying for you mistakes. Imagine having God as your pinch-hitter, you lawyer, your dad, you biggest fan, and you best friend. Imagine having the King of kings in your cheering section and hearing the applause of heaven ring out just for you.
But don't just imagine it. Open your heart to it -- the heavenly joy of knowing the God who delights in you.
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Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear
Weary travelers. You've seen them -- everything they own crammed into their luggage. Staggering through terminals and hotel lobbies with overstuffed suitcases, trunks, duffels, and backpacks.
Backs ache. Feet burn. Eyelids droop.
We've all seen people like that.
At times, we are people like that -- if not with our physical luggage, then at least with our spiritual load.
We all lug loads we were never intended to carry. Fear. Worry. Discontent. No wonder we get so weary. We're worn out from carrying that excess baggage. Wouldn't it be nice to lose some of those bags?
That's the invitation of Max Lucado. With the Twenty-third Psalm as our guide, let's release some of the burdens we were never intended to bear.
Using these verses as a guide, Max Lucado walks us through a helpful inventory of our burdens. May God use this Psalm to remind you to release the burdens you were never meant to bear.
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