Fifteen minutes into my conversation with New York best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado, I was surprised by how much I did not know about the beloved author. For starters, I was unaware that he had lived in my country, Brazil, for five years and speaks Portuguese with unlikely fluency for someone who has not practiced the language in over three decades.
Scriptures refer to the Holy Spirit in over a dozen ways. These metaphors convey the different aspects of the help given to believers when the Holy Spirit descended from heaven at Pentecost. He is called the Teacher, Wind of God, Counselor, Intercessor, Helper and Guide, to name a few. And yet, because there is often much misunderstanding, taboo, or simply neglect of teaching the subject, many believers live defeated, not realizing the boundless help available to them.
But the truth is, when Jesus said he would not leave His followers alone, He meant what He said. It is a truth tested and proven by believers through the centuries: the very Power that made the universe is available to all believers who dare to ask for help, guidance and peace.
In They Walked with God, a compilation adapted from previous works with new content added, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado takes a closer look at 40 of the most inspirational characters in the Bible and shares a powerful message: if God can find a place for each character in the Bible, we can rest assured that he's carved out a spot for us too.
Are you weary? Worn out by the bills that keep stacking, a virus that keeps raging, or a heart that keeps aching? If so, the book of Esther brings welcome news: Relief will come! To be clear, you didn't ask for this struggle. You want to get past it. You don't know how much longer you can hold up. But what if God is with you in this difficult season? When life seems off the rails, remember this truth: the minute you bow your head to pray is the moment God lifts his hand to help.
In You'll Get Through This, pastor and New York Times best-selling author, Max Lucado offers sweet assurance, "Deliverance is to the Bible what jazz music is to Mardi Gras: bold, brassy, and everywhere." Whether you find yourself in the pit of financial downturn, job loss, health crisis, or relationship stresses, God has a plan and a pathway forward for you. Max reminds listeners God doesn't promise that getting through trials will be quick or painless.
In an uncertain world, it's not always easy to put our worries into God's hands. Beloved author and pastor Max Lucado weaves together biblical promises and thoughtful practices to help you exchange your anxieties for God's peace. Calm Moments for Anxious Days includes Scripture, devotional thoughts, and practical tools to help you release your anxieties one by one, breath by breath, into the safe hands of a God who will never leave you.
Pastor and New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado reminds us that our miracle-working God sees us, cares about us, and will always come to our aid, no matter what we're up against. By tracing Jesus' miracles as told in the book of John, You Are Never Alone invites us to take a closer look at the good news John shares with each of us: God is never afraid to meet us in the middle of life's messes, extend a helping hand, and lift us out of our troubles.
You really want to do what is right. But sometimes life turns south. You're anxious, you're busy, you're cautious because you've been hurt before--or maybe you're all of the above. But pastor and New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado is here to share some good news: in the Bible and in the circumstances of your life, God whispers your name lovingly, tenderly, patiently, and persistently.
Are you ready to move from insecure to God secure? From regret riddled to better-because-of-it? From afraid to die to ready to fly? Today, find freedom in God's grace. We often talk about grace, but do we really understand it? Grace politely occupies a phrase in a hymn and fits nicely on a church sign. It never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked, "Do you believe in grace?" who could say no? Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado helps us dive deeper into what it means to be changed by grace.
Now more than ever, we're all weary from the loads we carry and the challenges we face. We have questions we cannot answer and problems we cannot solve. We'd hoped that life would be an invigorating adventure or an inspiring journey. We never expected to grow so tired so quickly. But Max teaches us that we can find fresh strength and purpose in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible makes more than a hundred references to the Holy Spirit, and Jesus says more about the Spirit than he does about the church, marriage, finances, and the future. But do we really know the Spirit? In Help Is Here, Max will give you the tools and encouragement you need to:
No more walking this path alone. No more carrying weight you were not intended to bear. It's time for you to enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit and experience the vigorous life he offers. You can rest easy knowing that Help Is Here.
Who exactly is the Holy Spirit? What does he do in our lives? How can we know him more deeply, and is it possible to tap in to his power? Should we pray to the Holy Spirit? Is it possible to be aware of his promptings and speaking into our lives? Dr. Scot McKnight answers these questions and more in this comprehensive examination of what the Bible says about this divinely important but often confusing member of the Trinity.
Craig Groeschel (lifechurch.tv) and his church have hosted an international multichurch campaign called One Prayer, a month-long concerted focus on unifying the many different, diverse churches participating by praying together and serving their local communities. This compilation book features chapters by seventeen passionate church leaders, including Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Jentezen Franklin, Perry Noble, Steven Furtick, and others.
What can the incredible life of Moses teach us about modern Christianity? When you face your personal Red Sea, will you be prepared like Moses was? In Great Lives: Moses, pastor and bestselling author Charles Swindoll gives us the facts based squarely on the truth revealed in God's Word. He also fills in the fine-line details of Moses' life with emotion and feeling, because Moses, like all of us, was a human being with faults and frailties. And finally, Swindoll helps us apply the lessons of Moses' life to our own daily dilemmas.
One of the most dramatic occurred some twenty years ago; I was about fifty years old. To the casual observer I was on top of the world. Our brand-new church sanctuary was bursting at the seams. We added new members every week. The congregation had very little debt and absolutely no doubt that their pastor was doing a great work.
Our staff was struggling. Departments were squaring off against one another. Tacky emails were flying like missives. Ministers were competing for budget dollars. A couple of invaluable employees, weary from the tension, quietly resigned. And since I was the senior pastor, it fell to me to set things in order.
God extended it to me. Abundantly. I confessed my hypocrisy to our elders, and they did what good pastors do. They covered me with prayer and designed a plan to help me cope with demands. I admitted my struggle to the congregation and in doing so activated a dozen or so conversations with members who battled the same temptation.
Brad Haugh still remembers the sound of his heartbeat. It thundered in his chest. Two hundred beats a minute. With a fire behind him and a ridge ahead of him, this smoke jumper needed every pulse of power his heart could give in order to escape with his life.
He was one of forty-nine firefighters caught in a wildfire on the spine of Storm King Mountain, seven miles west of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Fourteen of them lost their lives. They were overrun by flames that Haugh estimated to reach a height of three hundred feet. The wall of heat required only two minutes to race a quarter of a mile up the mountain, reaching a speed of eighteen miles per hour. Temperatures reached two thousand degrees, hot enough to incinerate the tools dropped in its path.
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