I read Sarah Palin’s new book, America By Heart. It was good. It echoes a lot of what Glenn Beck and The 5000 Year Leap say about country, pride, faith, and America.
One book she quoted in her book that struck me was It’s Not About Me by Max Lucado. Since my husband and I have both been accused of being selfish by his family recently, I thought this book apropos. Plus, what better way to begin the New Year?
I like Max Lucado. As creator of the Wemmicks, he’s a special guy in my kids’ eyes. But I’ve only read one adult book of his until this one.
Here’s the best parts and quotes:
When our deepest desire is not the things of God, or a favor from God, but God himself, we cross a threshold.
Lucado then discusses Moses in the desert and while talking to God he asks him, “Show me your Glory.” (Exodus 33:18) Lucado asks, “Don’t we all need to be asking the same thing?” So we can be changed forever as Moses was?
We exist to reveal His glory but we must first see and know His glory and live it in our lives.
Holy is repeated 3 times in Isaiah 6:2. What other adjective is repeated to describe God?
God’s mercy makes us holy.
We can endure any challenge for a moment when our reward is eternity.
If it’s all about you, then it’s all up to you. God loves us too much to give us such a burden. He loves us too much to give us too much. He knows our limitations and weaknesses. Because He loves us.
Side Note: Lucado told a story about Queen Victoria’s daughter, Alice, and how she loved her sick son so much so kissed him even though he was in quarantine. She died a few days later. I immediately looked this up on the internet because I had never heard of this story. Great stuff. Be prepared to shed a tear.
As we behold His glory, we become it. As we become it, we reflect it for all to see.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17
Our body is interwoven with the soul. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” 1 Corinthians 6:15 So whatever touches the body, impacts the soul.
Your body, God’s tool. Maintain it.
Your body, God’s temple. Respect it.
God does leave us to the consequences of our stupid decisions. But our pain has a purpose: problems, struggles, heartaches, and hassles cooperate toward one end–the glory of God. Is there any change you have been selected to struggle for God’s glory? “To suffer for Him.” Philippians 1:29
God will use whatever He wants to display His glory. Nations. People. Problems.
God can be seen through your problems.
Your success is all about God. God lets you excel so you can make Him known. You are good at what you do for God’s sake.
We exist to give honor to his name. If they know His child (us humans), then they know His heart.
There is a great section in here discussing Isaiah and when he saw the glory of God, was cleansed by the seraphs, and said, “Here am I!” This was especially satisfying to me since I knew exactly what Lucado was getting at–all thanks to BSF!
This was a great reminder book. Easy read and relatively short. Great ideas and lessons from the Bible. Everything in our lives: our bodies, our struggles, our success, our salvation, and our messages are for God’s glory. It’s all about God, not us.
Live for God.
This was outstanding. Wonderful thoughts! Happy New Year!
God has given you the gift of writing…thanks for using it to write about God. When faced with problems in this life…do like King David…call out to God…do like Paul, the chief of sinners…continue to call on God. He will protect you under his wings. (Psalms 91)
Thank you for all of this information. Do you ever sleep? (just kidding)
Max’s most recent book, Outlive Your Life, is a tremendous read as well and calls all of us to do great work for the glory of God. I looked up the book description on Amazon and I think it describes it pretty well. It says: “These are difficult days in our world’s history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God’s love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let’s live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did.” Good, no, GREAT, stuff!
Kudos for such eloquent speaking out for God! Hey, if anyone here has extra prayer time (?!), please pray for a new Bible study my wife and I are starting later this month. My wife has been in BSF 9 or 10 years, but I am relatively new at only about 1.5+ yrs. We’ve hosted small groups in our home for a few years, but this will be the most serious one I’ve tried to lead. It’s James MacDonald’s “Lord, Change my Attitude – Before it’s Too Late” study. If you know James, you know it will be good. And since it’s based on our great God’s Word, we know it will be great!
I made up typed informational invitations, and included them with about 16 hand-written notes to people we know from several different churches. Please pray that God will use this for His glory and give us the perfect number of interested people. It would be a great problem if we had so many responses that we had to move it out of our house! Thanks!
I will be praying!