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Max Lucado

Words of Hope and Help

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October 8 · length unknown
Question at Bethesda
Listen to Today's Devotion On that particular day at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus was drawn to the main character of this miracle. John 5:5-7 (NLT) reads like this: “When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’ ‘I can’t, sir,’ the man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up.'” What an odd question to ask a sick person. Why would Jesus pose such a question? The man was 38 years as an invalid. The duration of the condition prompted Jesus to ask, “Would you like to get well?” Getting well means getting up, getting a job, getting on with life. Do you really want to be healed? That’s the question Jesus asked then. That’s the question Jesus asks all of us. Do you want to get well? Remember my friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 7 · length unknown
Waiting on Help
Listen to Today's Devotion The man near the pool of Bethesda didn’t use the word “stuck,” but he sure could have. For 38 years near the edge of a pool, it was just him, his mat, and his paralyzed body. And since no one would help him, help never came. Crowds of people, despondent, dejected, one after the other, awaited their chance to be placed in the pool where healing waters bubbled up. Can you envision them? And more important, can you envision Jesus walking among them? All the gospels’ stories of help and healing invite us to embrace this wonderful promise: “Wherever Jesus went, he healed people of every sort of illness. And what pity he felt for the crowds that came because their problems were so great and they didn’t know what to do or where to go for help” (Matthew 9:35-36 TLB). My friend, remember Jesus sees you and you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 6 · length unknown
Take Jesus at His Word
Listen to Today's Devotion This life contains many walks from Cana to Capernaum. Journeys between prayer offered and prayer answered. Jesus promised the boy’s father a sure blessing at the end of the journey. He promises the same to us. We will meet this father when we get to heaven, and when we do I’m gonna ask him about that walk. I want to hear how he felt. I want to know what he thought. But most of all, I want to thank him for inspiring this verse: “The man took Jesus at his word and departed” (John 4:50 NIV). Do likewise. Set your compass on the pole star of God’s promise. Place one weary foot in front of the other. Jesus has spoken. Let his word do what it was intended to do, and that is lead you home. Remember my friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 5 · length unknown
Studio of the Divine Artist
Listen to Today's Devotion Do your days feel like a hike on an Appalachian Trail in winter? A struggle to place one foot in front of the other? If so, I urge you friend, hang on, hang on. Don’t give up. Help is here. It may not come in the manner you requested or as quickly as you desire, but it will come. Assume that something good is going to happen. The door of tomorrow is unlocked from the inside. Just turn the knob and step out. The divine artist isn’t finished. The earth is his studio. Every person on earth is one of his projects. Every event on earth is a part of his great mural. He is not finished. The scripture says in Philippians 1:6 (NCV), “God began doing a good work in you, and I’m sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.” Remember friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 2 · length unknown
Our Ever Present Help
Listen to Today's Devotion The father may have thought he was walking the road to Capernaum all alone. Quite the contrary. Christ had supernaturally gone into the nobleman’s residence and not only healed the son, but also won the hearts of the entire household. Was the father’s prayer answered? By all means! It was answered in a manner greater than he had requested. Yours will be as well. Perhaps the answer will come this side of heaven. Perhaps it awaits you on the other side. Either way, this story urges you and me to keep walking and believing in our God who is our ever-present help in trouble. Ever-present. You’ll never be put on hold or told to check back later. Ever-present. As near as your next breath. Ever-present help. He is here to help. That’s the message of this miracle. That’s the message of the Gospel. Remember friends, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 1 · length unknown
Not Yet Answered Prayer
Listen to Today's Devotion The Gospel of John tells the story about a man from Capernaum who approached Jesus in Cana. “Come heal my son?” the man asked. Jesus said the boy would be healed, and the man set out for Capernaum. Do you find yourself somewhere between Cana and Capernaum? Like the official, you begged Jesus for help. And like the official you didn’t receive the answer in the way you wanted. This is the issue of the not yet answered prayer, or the not answered in the way I asked prayer. How should we react? I’m sorry that the job did not materialize or the cancer chose to metastasize. Life has its share of dark, dank moments. Read the Bible from the table of contents in the front to the maps in the back, and you will not find any promise of a pain-free life on this side of heaven. But you will find this assurance, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” You are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 30 · length unknown
Godly Weapons
Listen to Today's Devotion When we go out in God’s name, Satan makes a dash for the nearest exit. We have weapons he cannot match. What are our weapons? 2 Corinthians 10:4: Prayer, worship, and Scripture. Prayer invites God, praise dethrones Satan, Scripture discloses truth. And Satan hates the truth. Flee sexual immorality. Let no evil come from your mouth. Make sure the demons of hell know that you are on God’s side, not theirs. People of unbreakable courage know what Elijah knew. “The Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand” (1 Kings 17:1 NKJV). Victims? Not on your life. Victors? You can count on it! Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 29 · length unknown
Defy the Devil
Listen to Today's Devotion Worshippers of Baal believed they could earn the favor of their god through violence or promiscuous sex. For that reason the priests cut themselves, had prostitutes in the temple, and offered babies in the fire. What would such paganism do to a culture? We don’t have to look far to know. What two themes dominate our society? Violence and sex. On average, American youth will witness more than two hundred thousand violent acts on television before the age of eighteen. Thirty-five percent of internet downloads are for pornography. If you want to be faithful in a faithless world, dare to defy the devil. Yes, he is powerful. But you are a child of the living God! The One who empowered Elijah will empower you. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 28 · length unknown
Steadfast Faith Confronts Sin
Listen to Today's Devotion “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die'” (2 Kings 1:4 NASB). Elijah dispatched this verdict to the king. Ahaziah reacted in fear-filled vengeance. He sent fifty soldiers to do battle with the prophet. “But Elijah responded to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty’” (2 Kings 1:10 NASB). White-hot heat fell and cremated the soldiers. Once again, Elijah does not shy away from taking a stand against sin. Take note of this lesson: steadfast faith confronts blatant sin. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 25 · length unknown
Where to Take Your Hurt
Listen to Today's Devotion Ahab and Jezebel were dead. Their Son Ahaziah, a chip off the old demonic block, had assumed the throne. He took a fall. Maybe he was paralyzed and in pain. Whatever his malady, he sought relief. Where do you go when you hurt? Some people turn to alcohol. Others to opioids. Still others to a frenzied schedule. How many turn to Jehovah? Ahaziah could have. But, no, pain drove him to consult a false god, Baal. The most insidious work of the devil is counterfeit religion. Why? The devilish cunning of counterfeit religion is that it mixes in just enough truth to make the lie all the stronger. Satan sold a bag of lies to Ahaziah. Don’t let him do the same with you. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 24 · length unknown
Do Not Be Troubled
Listen to Today's Devotion Psalm 23:4 (NKJV) reads, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” God promises to come at an unexpected hour and take us from the gray world we know to the golden world we don’t. But since we don’t, we aren’t sure we want to go. On the night before his own death, Jesus told his friends, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled…I will come back and take you to be with me…” (John 14:1, 3 NCV). The apostle Paul announced that “Death has been swallowed up in victory…” (1 Corinthians 15:54 NIV). The message is consistent. We do not know the hour, nor do we know the circumstances. But an exit is scheduled for each one of us. Yet we need not fear the moment. Why? Because our Father is a good Father. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 23 · length unknown
God’s Message to Ahab
Listen to Today's Devotion Consider Elijah’s pronouncement of judgment on Ahab: “[God] says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants…because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin’” (1 Kings 21:21-22 NIV). This solemn prophecy shook Ahab. “He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted” (1 Kings 21:27). God responded to this gesture of humility by postponing the penalty of killing all Ahab’s sons. Years later the seventy remaining descendants of Ahab died by the sword of King Jehu. God sends them message after message, prophet after prophet, yet they slay the innocent and take what is not theirs to take. They forget what sustains them, and in the end they perish at their own folly. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 22 · length unknown
Get Moving
Listen to Today's Devotion Elijah was depressed. Among God’s word to him were these: “Go back the way you came through the desert to Damascus. When you get there anoint Hazael…Then anoint Jehu…Finally, anoint Elisha…to succeed you as prophet” (1 Kings 19:15-17 MSG). These assignments add up to one point: Get moving. God’s message to the prophet was “I still have work for you to do. You may think you’re alone; you’re not. Thousands will stand with you. It’s time for you to get back in the game.” God’s message to you is this: You are more than the sum of your dark days. I bought you, and I have a destiny for you. Now, with my help, let’s get back in the game. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 21 · length unknown
God’s Soothing Touch
Listen to Today's Devotion When darkness descends, flee solitude. 1 Kings 19:11 (NIV): “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’” God wanted Elijah’s attention. Elijah obeyed and beheld a display of power. The roar of tempests bounced off the canyon walls. “But the Lord was not in the wind” (1 Kings 19:11). An earthquake sent tremors through the desert floor. “But the Lord was not in the earthquake” (1 Kings 19:11). Next came fire that leapt to the height of the trees. “But the Lord was not in the fire” (1 Kings 19:12). Then… “the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). The soothing touch of God was needed for Elijah’s season of sadness. Listen for it…listen for Him. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 18 · length unknown
The Lord Gives A Word
Listen to Today's Devotion For six long weeks Elijah had walked across the wilderness of Sinai. Finally he reached and began to ascend Mt. Horeb. Elijah was in search of God. And, according to 1 Kings 19:9 (NKJV), “the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” Elijah answered with a complaint. I did everything you told me to do, but your people have rejected your covenants and killed your prophets. I’m the only one left in the country, and now they want to kill me too. Well, the Lord gave Elijah a word. According to verse 12, our Creator spoke to the prophet with a still, small voice. He will speak a word to you as well. Let his Word, living and active, speak to you. Open your Bible and listen. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 17 · length unknown
Get Refreshed
Listen to Today's Devotion Elijah was depressed and exhausted. “Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’…He ate and drank and then lay down again” (1 Kings 19:5-6 NIV). What does God say to the sad and weary? Be refreshed. God told Elijah to eat and sleep. The drama on Mt. Carmel. The execution of the false priests. The twenty-seven-mile run in front of Ahab’s chariot. He had reason to be depleted. God rested on the seventh day. The world didn’t collapse when he took a Sabbath. It won’t fall apart if you do the same. If you are depressed and feel like giving up, his word to you is “get refreshed.” Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 16 · length unknown
Heed the Promises
Listen to Today's Devotion Reading from 1 Kings 18:45-46, “Meanwhile the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came on Elijah and…he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel” (NIV). Elijah, the prophet who brought down fire, is now the prophet who brings down rain. Elijah, the prophet who knelt on Mount Carmel in prayer, becomes the prophet who descends in a flurry. His action inspires us to do likewise. Lift up your eyes! Trust the promises of God. Apart from them life will beat you up. But armed with them, you will weather any storm. How different our lives would be if we heeded the promises and not the problems! Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 15 · length unknown
The Distant Cloud
Listen to Today's Devotion The promises of God glitter like diamonds on the pages of Scripture. Will we gather them? Claim them? Delight in them? Pursue them? Elijah did. He prayed, not just once, but seven times! “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea” (1 Kings 18:43-44). God’s answer came as a cloud the size of a hand, and that was enough to excite Elijah. Faith sees the distant cloud. Faith sees promises as though they were fulfilled. Can you see the hint of an answer to your prayer? Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 14 · length unknown
The Filter of Faith
Listen to Today's Devotion Christ followers hear a language that others miss. In 2 Kings chapter 6 we see this truth played out in dramatic fashion. Elijah’s protégé, Elisha, followed in his mentor’s footsteps and upset the powers of the age. The king of Aram decided to take the young prophet out. He sent a kill squad. They surrounded the city by night. It appeared to be the end. But the man of God saw what his frightened servant could not. “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see’” (2 Kings 6:17). One saw through the filter of fear. The other, the filter of faith. Elisha learned this lesson from Elijah. We’d be wise to do the same. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 11 · length unknown
Hear the Voice of God
Listen to Today's Devotion Immediately after the Mount Carmel experience, Elijah instructed Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain” (1 Kings 18:41 NIV). But then we read that the sky was cloudless. How do we explain his announcement? I found the answer in the Hebrew word that is translated sound. Elijah was choosing to hear God’s covenant and disregard the circumstances. The circumstances: the silent sky, the blazing sun, dearth of clouds. The promise of God, the words spoken to Elijah, said, “Pull out your umbrella.” Elijah chose to hear the “voice” of God’s promise. What about us? Multiple times each day, we choose the message we follow. Are we reeling from the problems, or are we standing on God’s promises? Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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