Mark 1:35

Max Lucado is a gifted writer who has written dozens of books. His writings never seem to tire or repeat. God has given him a unique ability to translate his thoughts to paper with feeling and passion. Just as a preacher can communicate through metaphors & stories, Max Lucado speaks to your heart in a way that is easily understood and visualized.

His latest book, For The Tough Times is a small, compact book. It would be perfect to give away. I'm thinking about keeping a few copies around to give to people facing difficult circumstances.

Have you ever been through a hard time? Ever felt like life was unfair or harsh? Or, do you know someone who may be experiencing a dark time? This book is perfect reading during when uncertainty approaches.

Max Lucado uses excellent imagery when speaking of how much God is for us. My favorite is that if God had a car, my name would be on the bumper sticker. Love that!

Overall, I would highly recommend this short book. If you pastor a church, teach a bible study or just have a heart for people, I would recommend picking up several copies. Listen to people today, they are hurting. This book may be what they need to receive a glimpse of God's love.

I love reading the psalms. David wrote about half of them and his writings were incredibly transparent. He was by no means a perfect guy, but through his struggles he was always repentant and always sought God's mercy and forgiveness.

This short psalm gives us David's principles for living a life that glorifies God and allows us to accomplish God's work while we are on earth.

Honesty

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. Ps 131:1

We have to accept ourselves and who we are in Christ. Once we can do this, then the way others view us becomes less important. It is how Jesus sees you that makes a difference. We spend SO much time trying to impress others. This gets in the way of the impression we should be making for Christ. Forget about all that other stuff. Keep the main thing, the main thing.

Let go of the dishonest views of yourself and grab hold of the way Jesus sees you. He loves you the way you are right now. He will love you no more or no less if you wear the right clothes, or say the right things or drive the right car. He Loves you!

Humility

Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me. Ps 131:2

It is time to humble ourselves and yield to God's plan for our life. What is it that God is calling you to do? It is time to get after it. How long can you sit comfortably resisting His calling in your life? Listen, pray and then put it into action.

God is calling us to be spiritually and emotionally mature. It is about time we step up and humbly accept His will for our lives.

Hope

O Israel, hope in the Lord From this time forth and forever. Ps 131:3

The child wants things to remain as they are. safe. secure. They have a routine and everything is known to them. But the mother has other plans. She knows that for the child's next phase of life, they need to be weaned. The child resists, but mom knows best!

We are the same way. When everything is comfortable, then there is no reason to do anything different. But God in His wisdom, has a way of shaking us loose and allowing us to move forward.

When we move forward, this verse reminds us to have hope. We have hope from this day forward. Sure, it will be challenging and we'll look back. Sometimes wishing we could go back to that comfort. But it isn't available anymore. Now there is only the future and we must hope in that day.

Martin Luther said in life there is only "this day and that day."

"this day" refers to today.
"that day" refers to the day we'll see Christ face to face.

So let's live "this day" with all of the honesty, humility and hope we can muster. God will provide the rest and will do so until "that day" comes.