The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! Hi, my friend. I hope you’re doing well today. For the next few weeks on the podcast, leading up to Easter, I’ll be sharing from one of my favorite verses. I’ve been asked what I would choose if I could only preach one topic or one passage for the rest of my life. I think this is it—John 3:16. The Hope Diamond of the Bible. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! This week on the podcast we're looking at what is, for many people, the challenge of life. Forgiving people who have hurt us. Forgiveness is not easy but, I believe with the Lord's help, the grace we have received from God can overflow into the lives of others.

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! Our topic for this episode is God's greatest gift to us, grace. I've preached a lot of sermons on grace, I've written a few books on grace, but I never get tired of talking about this gift of being made right with God through his grace. As perfectly summarized in 1 Corinthians 5:18-21, "All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him. God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace. So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could become right with God."

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! This week on the podcast we’re turning our attention to a favorite passage of mine found in Matthew chapter 6: “Give us this day our daily bread.” No prayer better summarizes our relationship with God than this expression of trust. God’s treatment of fear has always been trust. These are fear-filled days, aren’t they? We see it in newscasts and on our neighbors’ faces. We’re anxious. So, I can’t think of a more appropriate phrase to focus on than this simple, profound prayer of trust.

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! What happens when we believed we are loved by God? What do we do? How do we act? Might I suggest that the primary purpose of the Christian is this: to worship. When we worship God for who he is and all he has done for us, it reinforces what we know to be true of God’s character, enables us to receive his love, and changes how we see the world as people made in his image.

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! Our theme for today’s episode is faithfulness, and to help us understand the concept of faithfulness we’re looking at the life of Joseph. Joseph’s story reminds us that when we trust God and respond with faith, He can bring triumph from tragedy.

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! This week is Valentine’s Day, so it feels appropriate to bring you an episode about love. February 14th may prompt us to show extra affection to those dearest to us, but what do we do when people are hard to love? May these words from the apostle John serve as an encouraging reminder: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Dive into the transformative power of kindness as the podcast unfolds a humorous personal story that leads to deeper insights. Explore biblical examples, including David's compassion for Mephibosheth, illustrating kindness as a core value for meaningful connections. Enjoy a heartwarming tale of a father helping an elderly man, highlighting the beauty of human compassion. Finally, embrace self-compassion and generosity, reminding us that kindness starts within before reaching outward to others.

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! Hello friend. Thanks for joining me on the Encouraging Word Podcast. This week we're discussing the importance of patience. The reality is we are all "works in progress" until the return of Christ.

You can find the Tame Your Thoughts book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com (https://maxlucado.com/tameyourthoughts/) or wherever you buy books! Hello, my friend. What do you do when an unexpected storm blows into your life and disrupts everything? Where do you find strength to battle anxiety and fear? The Bible offers an answer in Philippians chapter 4. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."