GRACE WORDS

by Max Lucado No one believed in people more than Jesus did. He saw something in Peter worth developing, in the adulterous woman worth forgiving, and in John worth harnessing. He saw something in the thief on the cross, and what he saw was worth saving. And in the life of a wild-eyed, bloodthirsty extremist, He saw the apostle of grace.  He believed in Saul. Don’t give up on your Saul. When others write him off, give him another chance. Stay strong.  Call him brother.  Call her sister. It’s too soon to throw in the towel. Talk to your Saul about Jesus, and pray. God is at work behind the scenes. And remember this:  God never sends you where he hasn’t already been.  By the time you reach your Saul, who knows what you’ll find. God used Saul, who became Paul, to touch the world. Has God given you a Saul? From  Cast of Characters Listen to  UpWords with Max Lucado  at OnePlace.com          ...

             by Max Lucado An accomplished Ironman triathlete told me the secret of his success.  He said, “You last the long race by running short ones.”   Don’t swim 2.4 miles; just swim to the next buoy.  Rather than bike 112 miles, ride 10, take a break, and bike 10 more.  Never tackle more than the challenge ahead. Didn’t Jesus offer the same counsel?  He said in Matthew 6:34, “So don’t ever worry about tomorrow.  After all, tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  When asked how he managed to write so many books, the author explained that he’d never written a book.  All he did was write one page a day. Face challenges in stages.  You can’t control your temper forever, but you can control it for the next hour. Remember, you last the long race by running the short ones! From Great Day Every Day Listen to ...

by Dr. R.C. Sproul The distinction between the sovereign will of God and the permissive will of God is fraught with peril and tends to generate untold confusion. In ordinary language, the term  permission  suggests some sort of positive sanction. To say that God "allows" or "permits" evil does not mean that He sanctions it in the sense that He approves of it. It is easy to discern that God never permits sin in the sense that He sanctions it in His creatures. What is usually meant by divine permission is that God simply lets it happen. That is, He does not directly intervene to prevent its happening. Here is where grave dangers lurk. Some theologies view this drama as if God were impotent to do anything about human sin. This view makes man sovereign, not God. God is reduced to the role of spectator or cheerleader, by which God's exercise in providence is that of a helpless Father who, having done all He can do, must now sit back and simply hope for...