“He gave…to each according to his ability.”
Matthew 25:15 NKJV

Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment. Mine like a gold digger the unique-to-you nuggets from your life…

When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment.

Spit and blood are caked on his cheeks, and his lips are cracked and swollen. Thorns rip his scalp. His lungs scream with pain. His legs knot with cramps. Taut nerves threaten to snap as pain twangs her morbid melody. Yet, death is not ready. And there is no one to save him, for he is sacrificing himself.

Look at you. Your uncanny ease with numbers. Your quenchless curiosity about chemistry. Others stare at blueprints and yawn; you read them and drool. “I was made to do this,” you say.

Our Maker gives assignments to people, “to each according to each one’s unique ability.” As he calls, he equips. Look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? What have you loved to do? Stand at the intersection of your affections and successes and find your uniqueness.

from

Cure for the Common Life

http://www.maxlucado.net/_product_30305/Cure_For_The_Common_Life

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

“He really was the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:54

To the casual observer the six hours are mundane…

God is on a cross. The creator of the universe is being executed.

Spit and blood are caked on his cheeks, and his lips are cracked and swollen. Thorns rip his scalp. His lungs scream with pain. His legs knot with cramps. Taut nerves threaten to snap as pain twangs her morbid melody. Yet, death is not ready. And there is no one to save him, for he is sacrificing himself.

It is no normal six hours…it is no normal Friday.

Let me ask you a question: What do you do with this day in history? What do you do with its claims?

If it really happened…if God did commandeer his own crucifixion…if he did turn his back on his own son…those six hours were no normal six hours. They were the most critical hours is history.

from

Six Hours One Friday

http://www.maxlucado.net/_product_30305/Six_Hours_One_Friday

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

“Come near to God and God will come near to you.”
James 4:8

Your toughest challenge is nothing more than bobby pins and rubber bands to God. Bobby pins and rubber bands?

My older sister used to give them to me when I was a child. I would ride my tricycle up and down the sidewalk, pretending that the bobby pins were keys and my trike was a truck. But one day I lost the “keys.” Crisis! What was I going to do? My search yielded nothing but tears and fear. But when I confessed my mistake to my sister, she just smiled. Being a decade older, she had a better perspective.

God has a better perspective as well. With all due respect, our severest struggles are, in his view, nothing worse than lost bobby pins and rubber bands. He is not confounded, confused, or discouraged.

Receive his hope, won’t you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it so you can share it.

from

A Love Worth Giving

http://www.maxlucado.net/_product_30305/A_Love_Worth_Giving_(Paperback)

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.”
Genesis 28:15 NIV

When God calls us into the deep valley of death, he will be with us. Dare we think that he would abandon us in the moment of death?...Would the shepherd require his sheep to journey to the highlands alone? Of course not. Would God require his child to journey to eternity alone? Absolutely not! He is with you!

What God said to Moses, he says to you: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exod. 33:14 NIV).

What God said to Jacob, he says to you: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go” (Gen. 28:15 NIV).

What God said to Joshua, he says to you: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5 NIV).

from

Traveling Light

http://www.maxlucado.net/_product_30305/Traveling_Light_(Paperback)

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

“Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger.”
Ephesians 4:11-12

He grants gifts so we can “prepare God’s holy people.” Paul reached into a medical dictionary for this term. Doctors used it to describe the setting of a broken bone. Broken people come to churches. Not with broken bones, but broken hearts, homes, dreams, and lives. They limp in on fractured faith, and if the church operates as a church, they find healing. Pastor-teachers touch and teach. Gospel bearers share good news. Prophets speak words of truth. Visionaries dream of greater impact. Some administer. Some pray. Some lead. Some follow. But all help to heal brokenness: “to make the body of Christ stronger.”

Don’t miss it. No one is strong all the time. Don’t miss the place to find your place and heal your hurts.

from

Cure for the Common Life

Cure for the Common Life

-=- by Max Lucado -=-