Jaus' Notebook

by Max Lucado God loves humility!  Could that be the reason He offers so many tips on cultivating it? May I (ahem) humbly articulate a few? Do you want to be humble?  Assess yourself honestly.  Don’t take success too seriously. Celebrate the significance of others. Don’t demand your own parking place. Never announce your success before it occurs. Speak humbly. One last thought to foster humility. Live at the foot of the cross. Paul said in Galatians 6:14:  “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging.” Do you feel a need for affirmation? Does your self-esteem need attention? You don’t need to drop names or show off. You need only to pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this:  The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that’s a fact.  So if you need to brag, brag about that! Technorati Tags: humility

An old beautiful song by Beverly Shea, reminds us of God's unwavering care for us. Humanly speaking, the thought of His constant guardianship and upkeep is inconsistent with us the yet-sinners. But He loves us still. I have decided to ignore any seeming discrepancy, but to trust His word. For the scripture assures me, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God... casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7 Moreover, he promises to continue His past graces towards His people. "The Lord has been mindful of us." Psalm 115:12 . Our preservation proves this, our mercies, our trials, our guidance and our consolations. Everything, even the minutest blessing, represents a thought in the mind of God respecting us. "How precious are thy thoughts concerning me, O God, how great," ( Psalm 139:17 ), and those thoughts go back to an eternity before we came into being. "The Lord hath been mindful of us"; then should

THE GREATEST DEBT I OWE IS LOVE. Know this, just in case you do not read any further. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God” (1 John 4:7). It just occurred to me the other day that my precious God has credited my account with love; and He did so in huge amounts. And just as in any other transaction, it falls upon me to pay what I owe. Unfortunately though, I have realized that I have accrued some bad debts. A bad debt is debt that you owe and you cannot afford to pay. I would suggest that you do your best to pay back the debt and avoid taking on anymore debt. Soon, it shall be written off by the creditor as a loss because the debt cannot be collected and all reasonable efforts to collect it have been exhausted. Dear friend, how much love do you owe? Don’t you think our almighty Father has exhausted all reasonable efforts to collect it? He gave His son for us. Our friend Paul, in one of His love letters says, “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and

All of us have done things in life that we are ashamed of. Then comes the moment when all that junk catches up with you, and you can’t find a place to hide. Friend, have you ever wished that life came with an ‘Esc’ or a backspace button? Have you ever thought, “I wish my past could be buried”? Have you ever felt, “Lord, I wish I could not feel the guilt of some sins I committed four years ago”? Well, there is good news for you and me. Our loving Father new we would find ourselves in such a predicament one day, and He made a way. God loves us. He always has and always will. And there is absolutely nothing we can do to change that. What reassuring thought! Our maker, the Lord of our lives, tells us that He alone has the power to blot out our past. He set up a very important ordinance in which we affirm publicly that He has erased our past and given us a new life- baptism by immersion. When you walk into the baptismal pool that “you” that you hate dies and you walk out to begin li