God uses our tough times

Do you recite your woes more naturally than you do heaven's strength?  No wonder life's tough. You're assuming God isn't in this crisis.

Isabel spent her first three and a half years in a Nicaraguan orphanage. As with all orphans, her odds of adoption diminished with time. And then the door slammed on her finger! Why would God permit this innocent girl to feel even more pain? Might He be calling the attention of Ryan Schnoke sitting in the playroom nearby? He and his wife had been trying to adopt a child for months! Ryan walked over, picked her up, and comforted her. Several months later, Ryan and Christina were close to giving up, and Ryan remembered Isabel. Little Isabel is now growing up in a happy, healthy home.

A finger in the door? God doesn't manufacture pain, but He certainly puts it to use!  Your crisis?  You'll get through this!

From You'll Get Through This

By Max Lucado

Sent from my iPad

Thank you God

If you feel the world owes you something, brace yourself. You'll never get reimbursed! Henry Ward Beecher said, "A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves."  The sky is never blue enough, the steak isn't cooked enough, the universe isn't good enough to deserve a human being like you.

Pursue gratitude.  The grateful heart is like a magnet, sweeping over the day, collecting reasons for gratitude. Thank you, God.  Your lungs inhale and exhale 11,000 liters of air every day. Thank you, God. For the jam on our toast and the milk on our cereal, the blanket that calms us and the joke that softens us and the warm sun that reminds us of God's love. Gratitude leaves us looking at God and away from dread. It does to anxiety what morning sun does to valley mist. It burns it up!

Thank you God.

From Max Lucado.

Sent from my iPad

Verse of the day

Romans 1:16 ESV

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/59/rom.1.16.esv

Sent from my iPad

God is good!

When the cancer is in remission, we say, God is good. When the pay raise comes, we announce, God is good. But is God only good when the outcome is?

Most, if not all of us, have a contractual agreement with God. I pledge to be a good, decent person and God, in return, will do what I expect.  Save my child.  Heal my wife.  Protect my job. Yet when God fails to meet our expectations we're left spinning in a tornado of questions.

In such times, remember that God is sovereign.  James 1:17 tells us He does not change like shifting shadows. God does permit evil.  But He doesn't allow Satan, the father of evil, to triumph. Isn't this the promise of Romans 8:28?  "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." The ultimate culmination of God's purpose is good even when the specific details are difficult.

From Max Lucado.

Sent from my iPad

UpWords · 09/02/2013

God can use our disappointments and difficulties for our good. Our journey through life has many bumps, detours, and even road blocks. But as we learn to trust God in every situation, he uses our trials and troubles to bless us and to build His kingdom.

Fred

From: MaxLucado.com <email@maxlucado.com>
Date: September 2, 2013, 7:03:29 AM EDT
To: <frwaggoner@hotmail.com>
Subject: UpWords · 09/02/2013
Reply-To: MaxLucado.com <email@maxlucado.com>

MaxLucado.com Weekday Email A Mess for Good  Today's MP3 Twenty years of marriage, three kids, and now he's gone. Traded her in for a younger model.  She told me her story, and we prayed. Then I said,  "It won't be painless or quick. But God will use this mess for good. With God's help you'll get through this." Remember Joseph?  Genesis 37:4 says his brothers "hated him."  Far from home, they cast him into a pit, leaving him for dead. A murderous cover-up from the get go. Pits have no easy exit. Joseph's story got worse before it got better. Yet in his explanation we find his inspiration: "You meant evil against me," he said, "but God meant it for good. . ."  The very acts intended to destroy God's servant, turned out to strengthen him.  The same will be said about you.  You will get through this!  From You'll Get Through This         09.02.13.mp3 UpWords Partners help make these emails & more available for free at MaxLucado.com. Spread hope worldwide · Free Max Lucado sermons · more Partner with Us UpWords · 12175 Network · San Antonio, TX 78249  unsubscribe | update subscription preferences

UpWords · 08/19/2013

A good lesson for us all. Whenever you get discouraged and are tempted to quit remember to "never give up"!  

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9 ESV)

Fred

From: MaxLucado.com <email@maxlucado.com>
Date: August 19, 2013, 11:32:11 AM EDT
To: <frwaggoner@hotmail.com>
Subject: UpWords · 08/19/2013
Reply-To: MaxLucado.com <email@maxlucado.com>

MaxLucado.com Weekday Email Stay in the Race  Today's MP3 Don't give up! In 1952 Florence Chadwick attempted to swim the ocean waters between Catalina Island and the California shore—through foggy weather and choppy seas.  After 15 hours her muscles began to cramp and her resolve weakened. She begged to be taken out of the water, but her mother riding in a boat alongside, urged her not to give up. She kept trying but grew exhausted.  Aids lifted her out of the water. As they paddled a few more minutes, the mist broke. She discovered shore was less than a half mile away. She said, "All I could see was the fog.  I think if I could've seen the shore, I would've made it!" Friend, don' t give up! The finish may be only strokes away. God may at this moment be lifting His hand to signal Gabriel to grab the trumpet. The shore may be closer than you think. Stay at it.  Stay in the race.  And don't give up! from Facing Your Giants    08.19.13.mp3 UpWords Partners help make these emails & more available for free at MaxLucado.com. Spread hope worldwide · Free Max Lucado sermons · more Partner with Us UpWords · 12175 Network · San Antonio, TX 78249  unsubscribe | update subscription preferences

Let God be your refuge

What do you rely on for your source of security and self worth? Good words of wisdom from Max Lucado.

Fred

From: MaxLucado.com <email@maxlucado.com>
Date: August 9, 2013, 7:07:20 AM EDT
To: <frwaggoner@hotmail.com>
Subject: UpWords · 08/09/2013
Reply-To: MaxLucado.com <email@maxlucado.com>

MaxLucado.com Weekday Email God, Your Refuge  Today's MP3 He has a price on his head.  No place to lay his head. But somehow he keeps his head.  He turns his focus to God and finds refuge! Refuge is a favorite word of David's in the Psalms. But never did David use the word more poignantly than in Psalm 57—a song of David when he fled from Saul into the cave. On his face, lost in shadows and thought, nowhere to turn. But then he remembers he is not alone.  And from the recesses of the cave his voice floats: "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me. For my soul rests in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge." Make God your refuge. Not your job, your spouse, your reputation, or your retirement account. Make God your refuge! Let Him encircle you. Let Him be the foundation upon which you stand! And that foundation will support you right into eternity. from Facing Your Giants    08.09.13.mp3 UpWords Partners help make these emails & more available for free at MaxLucado.com. Spread hope worldwide · 10% store discount · Free Max Lucado sermons · more Partner with Us UpWords · 12175 Network · San Antonio, TX 78249  unsubscribe | update subscription preferences