Max Lucado: Grace for the Moment, Vol II

The Drama of Redemption

2009-11-15T06:01:46+00:00

“With one sacrifice he made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:14

We would have scripted the moment differently. Ask us how a God should redeem his world, and we will show you! White horses, flashing swords. Evil flat on his back. God on his throne.

But God on a cross?

A split-lipped, puffy-eyed, blood-masked God on a cross?

Sponge thrust in his face? Spear plunged in his side? Dice tossed at his feet?

No, we wouldn’t have written the drama of redemption this way. But, then again, we weren’t asked to. These players and props were heaven picked and God ordained. We were not asked to design the hour.

But we have been asked to respond to it.

God With Us

2009-11-14T06:01:18+00:00

“They shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:23 NKJV

God’s treatment for insignificance won’t lead you to a bar or dating service, a spouse or social club. God’s ultimate cure for the common life takes you to a manger. The babe of Bethlehem. Immanuel. Remember the promise of the angel? “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1:23 NKJV).

Immanuel. The name appears in the same Hebrew form as it did two thousand years ago. “Immanu” means “with us.” “El” refers to Elohim, or God. Not an “above us God” or a “somewhere in the neighborhood God.” He came as the “with us God.” God with us.

Not “God with the rich” or “God with the religious.” But God with us. All of us. Russians, Germans, Buddhists, Mormons, truckdrivers and taxi drivers, librarians. God with us.

Claim God’s Forgiveness

2009-11-13T06:01:33+00:00

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27 RSV

You read right. We have “put on” Christ. When God looks at us he doesn’t see us; he sees Christ. We “wear” him. We are hidden in him; we are covered by him. As the song says, “Dressed in righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”

Presumptuous, you say? Sacrilegious? It would be if it were my idea. But it isn’t; it’s his. We are presumptuous not when we marvel at his grace, but when we reject it. And we’re sacrilegious not when we claim his forgiveness, but when we allow the haunting sins of yesterday to convince us that God forgives but he doesn’t forget.

Do yourself a favor. Remember…he forgot.

Let Him Change Your Mind

2009-11-12T06:01:03+00:00

“Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2 NASB

God…changes the man by changing the mind. And how does it happen? By…considering the glory of Christ…

To behold him is to become like him. As Christ dominates your thoughts, he changes you from one degree of glory to another until—hang on!—you are ready to live with him.

Heaven is the land of sinless minds…Absolute trust. No fear or anger. Shame and second-guessing are practices of a prior life. Heaven will be wonderful, not because the streets are gold, but because our thoughts will be pure.

So what are you waiting on?…Give him your best thoughts, and see if he doesn’t change your mind.

Who Does the Saving?

2009-11-11T06:01:11+00:00

“A person is made right with God through faith, not through obeying the law.” Romans 3:28

If we are saved by good works, we don’t need God—weekly reminders of the do’s and don’ts will get us to heaven. If we are saved by suffering, we certainly don’t need God. All we need is a whip and a chain and the gospel of guilt. If we are saved by doctrine then, for heaven’s sake, let’s study! We don’t need God, we need a lexicon.

But be careful, student. For if we are saved by having exact doctrine, then one mistake would be fatal. That goes for those who believe we are made right with God through deeds. I hope the temptation is never greater than the strength. If it is, a bad fall could be a bad omen. And those who think we are saved by suffering, take caution as well, for you never know how much suffering is required.

It took Paul decades to discover what he wrote in only one sentence: “A person is made right with God through faith.” Not through good works, suffering, or study.

He Understands

2009-11-10T06:01:01+00:00

“God even knows how many hairs are on your head. So don’t be afraid.” Matthew 10:30-31

Why did Jesus grow weary in Samaria (John 4:6), disturbed in Nazareth (Mark 6:6), and angry in the Temple (John 2:15)? Why was he sleepy in the boat on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:38), sad at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35), and hungry in the wilderness (Matt.4:2)?

Why? Why did he endure all these feelings? Because he knew you would feel them too.

He knew you would be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you’d be sleepy, grief-stricken, and hungry. He knew you’d face pain. If not the pain of the body, the pain of the soul…pain too sharp for any drug. He knew you’d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth, and the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ is—he understands.

And because he understands, we can come to him.

It’s Not Up to You

2009-11-09T06:01:24+00:00

“The Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way God wants.” Romans 8:27

None of us pray as much as we should, but all of us pray more than we think, because the Holy Spirit turns our sighs into petitions and tears into entreaties. He speaks for you and protects you. He makes sure you get heard.

Now, suppose a person never…learns about the sealing and intercession of the Spirit. This individual thinks that salvation security resides in self, not God, and that prayer power depends on the person, not the Spirit. What kind of life will this person lead? A parched and prayerless one.

But what if you believe in the work of the Spirit? Will you be different as a result? You bet your sweet Sunday you will. Your shoulders will lift as you lower the buckling weight of self-salvation. Your knees will bend as you discover the buoyant power of the praying Spirit. Higher walk. Deeper prayers. And, most of all, a quiet confidence that comes from knowing it’s not up to you.

In the Beginning…

2009-11-08T06:01:57+00:00

“In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people.” John 1:4

I’ve always perceived the apostle John as a fellow who viewed life simply. “Right is right and wrong is wrong, and things aren’t nearly as complicated as we make them out to be.”

For example, defining Jesus would be a challenge to the best of writers, but John handles the task with casual analogy. The Messiah, in a word, was “the Word.” A walking message. A love letter. Be he a fiery verb or a tender adjective, he was, quite simply, a word.

And life? Well, life is divided into two sections, light and darkness. If you are in one, you are not in the other and vice versa.

Next question?

Courteous Conduct

2009-11-07T06:01:09+00:00

“Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers.” Colossians 4:5

Those who don’t believe in Jesus note what we do. They make decisions about Christ by watching us. When we are kind, they assume Christ is kind. When we are gracious, they assume Christ is gracious. But if we are brash, what will people think about our King? When we are dishonest, what assumption will an observer make about our Master? No wonder Paul says, “Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should” (Col. 4:5-6). Courteous conduct honors Christ.

It also honors his children. When you surrender a parking place to someone, you honor him. When you return a borrowed book, you honor the lender. When you make an effort to greet everyone in the room, especially the ones others may have overlooked, you honor God’s children.

The Shepherd Leads

2009-11-06T06:01:44+00:00

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” Psalm 23:2 NKJV

In the second verse of the Twenty-third Psalm, David the poet becomes David the artist. His quill becomes a brush, his parchment a canvas, and his words paint a picture. A flock of sheep on folded legs, encircling a shepherd. Bellies nestled deep in the long shoots of grass. A still pond on one side, the watching shepherd on the other. “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs. He makes me…He leads me…

Who is the active one? Who is in charge? The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job—is to watch the Shepherd.