Learning to Listen

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by Max Lucado

 

I believe we can learn to listen to God if we are equipped with the right tools. The first tool is a regular time and place. Select a slot on your schedule and in a corner of your world, and claim it for God. Take enough time to say what you want and for God to say what he wants.

The second tool is an open Bible. Pray first, asking God to help you understand it. Study the Bible a little at a time. Read until a verse “hits” you. Then meditate on it and write it down.

The third tool is a listening heart. We know we’re listening when what we read in the Bible is what others see in our lives. If you want to be just like Jesus, spend time listening for him until you receive your lesson for the day, and then apply it.

Read more Just Like Jesus

 

 

God’s Invitation

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by Max Lucado

 

Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time with God and have not been successful. And all of us are busy. So we let others tell us what God is saying. Isn’t that why we pay preachers? Isn’t that why we read Christian books? If that is your approach, your spiritual experiences are second-hand. Do you do that with other parts of your life—vacation, romance, eating? I don’t think so. There are certain things no one can do for you.

When God asks for your attention, he doesn’t want you to send a substitute. He invites you to vacation in his splendor. He invites you to feel the touch of his hand. He invites you to feast at his table.  He wants to spend time with you. And with a little training, your time with God can be the highlight of your day.

Read more Just Like Jesus

 

 

A Listening Heart

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by Max Lucado

 

“Let he who has ears to hear, use them.” Eight times in the Gospels and eight times in the book of Revelation we are reminded that it’s not enough just to have ears—it’s necessary to use them.

Jesus spent regular time with God, praying and listening. Luke 5:16 (NIV) tells us, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless Savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to clear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same? Jesus also spent regular time in God’s Word. Three times in the wilderness temptation he used the Word of God to repel the attack of Satan.

If we are to be just like Jesus, then we need to imitate his habits of prayer and Bible reading.

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The Touch of Jesus

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by Max Lucado

 

People longed for the compassionate touch of Jesus. Each one who came was touched, and each one touched was changed.But none was touched or changed more than the unnamed leper described in the first four verses of Matthew chapter 8. “He bowed before Jesus and said, ‘Lord, you can heal me if you will.’ And Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, ‘I will. Be healed!’ And immediately the man was healed from his disease.”

In New Testament times, leprosy was the most dreaded disease. In Scripture, the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast. A person doesn’t have to have leprosy to feel quarantined. The divorced, handicapped, unemployed, depressed, and terminally ill know this feeling. Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will you do the same?

Read more Just Like Jesus

 

 

Thirsty for Mercy

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by Max Lucado

 

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

Because Jesus has forgiven us, we can forgive others. Because he lives in us, you and I can do the same. Oh, I could never do that, you object. The hurt is so deep. Just seeing the person makes me cringe. Perhaps that’s the problem: you’re seeing too much of the wrong person. Try shifting your glance away from the one who hurt you and setting your eyes on the One who has saved you.

Please understand. Relationships don’t thrive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful. Are there any relationships in your world thirsty for mercy? Is there anyone who needs to be assured of your grace? Jesus made sure his disciples had no reason to doubt his love. Why don’t you do the same?

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A Passionate Moment

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by Max Lucado

 

Few situations stir panic like being trapped in a relationship. Some opt to flee, to get out of the relationship. Others fight, and tension becomes a way of life. A few, however, discover another treatment: forgiveness.

In Jesus’ day the task of washing feet was reserved for the lowest of the servants. But in the thirteenth chapter of John, the one with the basin and towel is the king of the universe. What a passionate moment when Jesus silently washes the feet of all the disciples…even Judas. Jesus knows that, by morning, these men will bury their heads in shame. Remarkable. He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it.

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What We Can Become

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by Max Lucado

 

Jesus is pure; we are greedy. He is peaceful; we are hassled. He is spiritual; we are earthbound. The distance between our hearts and his seems so immense. How could we ever hope to have the heart of Jesus?

Ready for a surprise? You already do. If you have given your life to Jesus, Jesus has given himself to you. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:16 (TLB), “Strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ.”

God has ambitious plans for us. The same one who saved your soul longs to remake your heart. Let’s imagine what it means to be just like Jesus. Let’s look long into the heart of Christ. Perhaps in seeing him, we will see what we can become.

Read more Just Like Jesus

 

 

The Heart of Jesus

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by Max Lucado

The heart of Jesus was pure. Peter traveled with Jesus for three and a half years, and he described Jesus as a “lamb, unblemished and spotless” (1 Peter 1:19). The heart of Jesus was peaceful. The disciples shouted for fear in the storm, but Jesus slept through it. Peter drew his sword to fight the soldiers, but Jesus lifted his hand to heal.

The heart of Jesus was purposeful. He aimed at one goal—to save humanity from its sin. “The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). His heart was spiritual. He took his instructions from God. It was his habit to go to worship. He memorized scripture. His times of prayer guided him. John 5:19 says, “The Son does whatever the Father does.” The heart of Jesus was spiritual. Let ours be the same.

 

Read more Just Like Jesus

 

 

Jesus Wants to Change Your Heart

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by Max Lucado

 

The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God’s love. He loves you right where you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. And so he cleanses us of filth:  immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness, greed. He wants us to be just like Jesus. Isn’t that good news? You aren’t stuck with today’s personality. You are tweakable!

Where did we get the idea we cannot change? Why do we say things such as, “It’s my nature to worry,” or “I’ll always be pessimistic; I’m just that way,” or, “I have a bad temper; I can’t help the way I react.” Who says? If our bodies malfunction, we seek help. Shouldn’t we do the same for our hearts? Can’t we seek aid for our sour attitudes? Of course we can! Jesus wants to change our hearts. Can you imagine a better offer?

Read more Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine

 

 

A Heart Like His

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by Max Lucado

 

What if, for one day—24 hours—Jesus were to become you? Imagine. Your heart gets the day off, and your life is led by the heart of Christ. His priorities govern your actions. His passions drive your decisions. His love directs your behavior.

Would people notice a change? And how would you feel? What effect would this have on your stress level? Would you still do what you had planned to do? Obligations. Appointments. Would anything change?

God’s plan for you is nothing short of a new heart. Ephesians 4:23-24 (NCV) says, “But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy.” God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.

Read more Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine