30 Days

of Thoughts

from

get more details at:

MaxLucado.com/everyday

Day 1

Next time your day goes south, here is what you do.

Steep yourself in the grace of God.

Saturate your day in His love.

Marinate your mind in His mercy.

He has settled your accounts, paid your debt.

“Christ carried our sins in His body on the cross.”

1 Peter 2:24 NCV

Day 2

Two types of voices command your attention today.

Negative ones fill your mind with doubt, bitterness, and fear.

Positive ones purvey hope and strength.

Which one will you choose to heed?

You have a choice, you know.

“We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 God’s Word

Day 3

Major in the grace of God.

Focus on the cross of Christ.

Grow fluent in the

language of redemption.

Linger long at the foot of the cross.

Immerse yourself in

the curriculum of grace.

Day 4

You can endure change by

pondering His permanence.

Survive rejection by

meditating on His acceptance.

“Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground...

Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is.”

Colossians 3:2

Day 5

God is able to accomplish, provide, help, save, keep, subdue...

He is able to do what you can’t.

He already has a plan.

God’s not bewildered.

Go to Him.

Day 6

The next time life’s problems seem about to overwhelm you, remember this advice from Peter: “Throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, for you are His personal concern.”

1 Peter 5:7 Phillips

God’s solution is a prayer away!

Day 7

Mark it down.

You will never go where God is not.

You may be transferred, enlisted, commissioned, reassigned, or hospitalized – but brand this on your heart – you can never go where God is not.

“I am with you always,”

Jesus promised

(Matthew 28:20 NKJV).

Day 8

The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith.

Fear visits everyone.

But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.

Hasn’t fear taken enough?

Enough smiles? Chuckles?

Restful nights, exuberant days?

Meet your fears with faith.

Day 9

Want to snatch a day from the manacles of boredom?

Do overgenerous deeds,

acts beyond reimbursement.

Kindness without compensation.

Do a deed for which

you cannot be repaid.

Day 10

We’re important,

but not essential;

valuable,

but not indispensable.

We have a part in the play, but we are not the main act.

A song to sing,

but we are not the featured voice.

God is.

Day 11

He did well before our birth; He’ll do fine after our deaths.

He started it all,

sustains it all,

and will bring it all

to a glorious climax.

In the meantime,

we have this high privilege: to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Christ.

Day 12

If today were your last,

would you do what you’re doing?

Or would you love more,

give more, forgive more?

Then do so!

Forgive and give as if it were your last opportunity.

Love like there’s no tomorrow, and if tomorrow comes, love again.

Day 13

When we see as God wants us to see, we see heaven’s hand in the midst of sickness, Jesus working on a troubled youth, the Holy Spirit comforting a broken heart.

We see with faith,

and since faith begets hope, we of all people are hope filled.

For we know there is more to life than what meets the eye.

Day 14

Here’s what you need

to keep in mind.

You no longer have yesterday.

You do not yet have tomorrow.

You have only today.

This is the day the Lord has made.

Live in it.

Day 15

Thunderbolts of regret

can ignite and consume you.

Counteract them with

downpours of God’s grace, daily washings of forgiveness.

“The Lord’s love never ends; his mercies never stop. They are new every morning.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 NCV

Day 16

Today.

This day.

In the stink of it,

the throes of it,

Jesus makes a miracle out of it.

When others nail you

to the cross of your past, he swings open the door to your future.

Paradise.

Day 17

Measure the gifts of God.

Collect your blessings.

Catalog his kindnesses.

Assemble your reasons

for gratitude and recite them.

“Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens.

That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NCV

Day 18

Negative thoughts

never strengthen you.

How many times have you cleared a traffic jam with your grumbles?

Does groaning about bills make them disappear?

Why moan about your aches and pains, problems and tasks?

“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.”

Proverbs 4:23 NCV

Day 19

You don’t have wisdom

for tomorrow’s problems.

But you will tomorrow.

You don’t have resources

for tomorrow’s needs.

But you will tomorrow.

You don’t have courage

for tomorrow’s challenges.

But you will tomorrow.

What you do have is manna for the morning and quail for the evening.

God meets daily needs

daily and miraculously.

Day 20

If God is enough for you, then you’ll always have enough, because you’ll always have God.

Day 21

Brighten your day

by envisioning God

running toward you.

Day 22

Does a river of fear

run between you and Jesus?

Cross over to him.

If you wave Jesus away,

joy will die,

laughter will perish,

and tomorrow will be buried in today’s grave of dread.

Give the day a chance. Believe he can.

Believe he cares. Believe he comes.

Don’t be afraid. Just believe.

Day 23

God cast you in his play, wrote you into his story.

He has a definite

direction for your life.

Fulfill it and enjoy fulfillment.

Play the part God prepared for you and get ready for some great days.

Day 24

We each have our own cross to carry – our individual callings.

Yours awaits you like

a snug-fitting shirt.

It matches your passions

and enlists your gifts and talents.

Want to blow the cloud cover off your gray day?

Accept God’s direction.

Day 25

Discover this mystery:

as you help others face their days, you put life into your own.

And life is exactly

what many people need.

Day 26

Check your vital signs.

Something stirs you.

Some call brings

energy to your voice,

conviction to your face,

and direction to your step.

Isolate and embrace it.

Nothing gives a day

a greater chance

than a good wallop of passion.

Day 27

You messed up yesterday.

But you’ll mess up more

if you let yesterday’s mistakes sabotage today’s attitude.

God’s mercies are

new every morning.

Receive them.

Day 28

Yesterday...forgiven.

Tomorrow...surrendered.

Today...clarified.

Jesus’ design for a good day makes such sense.

His grace erases guilt.

His oversight removes fear.

His direction removes confusion.

Day 29

No one can pray and worry at the same time.

When we worry,

we aren’t praying.

When we pray,

we aren’t worrying.

When you pray,

you “stay” your mind on Christ, resulting in peace.

Day 30

Ever have a day when you suddenly realize you’re way off track?

God sends a rescue boat

into such days.

Jesus positioned higher than the waves and enjoying a clear view of the shoreline, offers us his oversight: “Need help getting back on course?”

Wise are the ones who nod and swim in the direction he points.