Discovering the Cure for the Common Life (Excerpt) - Living in Your Sweet Spot

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison and slams the doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, and doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, when you could trustmore and fear less. Can you imagine your life without fear?

The booklet contains Chapter 1 of Fearless with additional content.

This story, excerpted from Next Door Savior, will become the Easter giveaway book for churches next spring-in the vein of He Did This Just for You.

In this story a woman gives her garbage of shame to the trashman; an old man hands over his heavy bag of regrets. Hundreds walk to the landfill and find it filled with trash.

"Give it to me. Tomorrow. At the landfill. Will you bring it?" He rubs a moist smudge from her cheek with his thumb and stands. "Friday. The landfill."

"You can't live with this," he explains. "You weren't made to."

For individuals and churches, here is a beautiful story of a Savior who can take all our garbage on his shoulders-and amazingly, still stand!

In addition to this story, Max explains in easy-to-understand language what Christ did for us and how to turn in our old baggage and exchange it for new life in him.

Building on stories and illustrations from 3:16 The Numbers of Hope by Max Lucado, this 64-page evangelistic book leads the readers word-by-word through John 3:16, the passage that he calls the "Hope Diamond" of scripture. It's the perfect way to introduce the gospel to friends and acquaintances through Max Lucado's warm and easy to understand writing style. Experience God's grace and plan of salvation for the first time or use this booklet to share the message of hope with someone you know.

The Amplified Bible (AMP) is an English translation of the Bible. The first edition was published in 1965. It is largely a revision of the American Standard Version of 1901, with reference made to various texts in the original languages. It is designed to "amplify" the text by using a system of punctuation and other typographical features to bring out all shades of meaning present in the original texts.

Building on stories and illustrations from the book He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado, He Did This Just for You is a 64-page evangelistic book that leads the readers through God's plan of salvation and offers an invitation to accept Christ. It's the perfect way to introduce the gospel to friends and acquaintances through Max Lucado's warm and easy to understand writing style. Experience God's grace and plan of salvation for the first time or use this booklet to share the message of hope with someone you know.

Grace.

We talk as though we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings, and premeal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means.

But do we really understand it? Have we settled for wimpy grace? It politely occupies a phrase in a hymn, fits nicely on a church sign. Never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked, “Do you believe in grace?” who could say no?

Max Lucado asks a deeper question: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace?

God’s grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly.

Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.

Let’s make certain grace gets you. 

Endorsements for GRACE:

“God’s grace—His unconditionally loving, unmerited favor—is sometimes difficult for people to grasp, even though each one of us is in desperate need of it. But in Max Lucado’s new book, GRACE, it is completely embraceable and understandable. Through Lucado’s characteristic narrative style and profound biblical understanding, we learn that God’s grace is truly much more than we deserve and greater than we imagine. “ --Dr. Charles F. Stanley 

“Max Lucado has blended his creative writing style with honesty about how he has experienced God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness in his own times of failure and despair.  You will find comfort as Max shines the light of the Word of God revealing that Jesus Christ is truly the only hope that brings everlasting peace.” --Franklin Graham, President and CEO, Samaritan’s Purse, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

“Reading Max Lucado on grace is like hearing Warren Buffett on money or Julia Child on food—it’s a subject he spent a lifetime falling in love with.” --John Ortberg, pastor and author, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church 

“Few writers are better than Max Lucado, no subject is better than God’s grace." --Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven and If God is Good

"Max gives us encouragement, hope and a needed reminder that the grace we all possess as followers of Jesus should empower us to move mountains, vs simply settling for pushing wimpy molehills." --Brad Lomenick, President and Executive Director, Catalyst

“Max offers up a biblical vision of God’s grace that comes drenched in sweat and with a set of six-pack abs; a life-defining newness and relationship-refining kindness straight from the heart of God.” --Tim Kimmel, author of Grace Based Parenting

"Some writers aim for the mind, others for the heart and a small number for the soul. With his latest book, 'Grace,' Max Lucado hits the trifecta, touching on all three." -- Cal Thomas, Syndicated and USA Today Columnist and Fox News Contributor

“If you love the writings of Max Lucado, this will probably become your favorite.” -- Stephen Arterburn, Founder and Chairman of New Life Ministries, host of “New Life Live!” and best selling author

“I can think of no more needed message for weary people everywhere, and no better writer than Max Lucado to paint so gloriously the hope that "Christ in you" affords.” --Louie Giglio, creator of Passion Conferences and pastor, Passion City Church