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It doesn’t matter if it’s a good day, a hard day, or somewhere in-between—we need the hope God offers every day. Max shares words of hope and help through simple, one-minute daily devotionals to encourage you to take one step closer to Jesus.
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In these tough times, could you use a word of encouragement? From Max Lucado, a pastor for over 40 years and bestselling author whose books have sold more than 145 million copies in over 50 languages, The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast is all about the greatest story ever told—the living Savior who brings you a lifetime of hope. With rich biblical insight, heartwarming storytelling, and Max’s comforting tone, you’ll be empowered to place your faith in a loving God who is always near you ...
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Listen to Today's Devotion In a concentration camp, a guard announced a shovel was missing. Screaming at the men, he kept insisting someone had stolen it. He shouldered his rifle, ready to kill one prisoner at a time until a confession was made. As the story continues, a Scottish soldier broke ranks, stood stiffly at attention, and said, “I did it.…
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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 u…
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Listen to Today's Devotion Forgiveness is not excusing, nor is it pretending. To forgive is to move on, not to think about the offense anymore. You don’t excuse him, endorse her, or embrace them. You just route thoughts about them through heaven. Revenge is God’s job. By the way, how can we grace recipients do anything less? Dare we ask God for gra…
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Listen to Today's Devotion See your enemies not as failures, but as God’s projects. God occupies the only seat on the supreme court of heaven. He wears the robe and refuses to share the gavel. Paul wrote in Romans 12:19 (MSG), “Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. ‘I’ll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I’ll take care of it.’” Vigilant…
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Listen to Today's Devotion He has a price on his head, no place to lay his head, but somehow he keeps his head. He turns his focus to God and finds refuge. Refuge is a favorite word of David’s in the Psalms. But never did David use the word more poignantly than Psalm 57—a song of David when he fled from Saul into the cave. On his face, lost in shad…
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Listen to Today's Devotion The purpose of the church is to provide bread and swords. To the spiritually hungry, the church offers bread; it offers nourishment. To the fugitive, the church offers swords—weapons of truth! Romans 8:28 (NKJV) says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called ac…
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Listen to Today's Devotion Linger too long in the stench of your hurt, and you’ll smell like the toxin you despise! I spent too much of a summer sludging through sludge. Oil field work is dirty at best. But you want to know the dirtiest job of all? Shoveling silt out of empty oil tanks. The foreman saved such jobs for the summer help (thanks, boss)…
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Listen to Today's Devotion Proverbs 18:24 (NIV) says, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” David found such a friend in the son of Saul. Oh to have a friend like Jonathan. A soulmate who protects you, who seeks nothing but your interests, wants nothing but your happiness. An ally who lets you be you. No need to weigh thoughts or me…
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Listen to Today's Devotion 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV) says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Those words were written for misfits and outcasts. God uses them all. Moses ran from justice, but God used him. Jonah ran from God, but God used him. Rahab ran a brothel, Lot ran with the wrong crowd, but God used them all. …
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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 …
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Listen to Today's Devotion God called David a “man after his own heart.” One might read his story and wonder what God saw in him. He fell as often as he stood. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family. Raging David. Weeping David. Bloodthirsty. God-hungry. Eight wives. One God. A man after Go…
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Listen to Today's Devotion Unceasing prayer may sound complicated, but it needn’t be that way. Do this: think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. As you stand in line to register your car, think, “Thank you, Lord, for being here.” In the grocery store as you shop, think, “Y…
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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 pe…
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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. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn more about The Cho…
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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 …
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Thank you for joining me this week on The Encouraging Word podcast. The last few episodes we’ve been talking about the fruits of the spirit, and our topic today is kindness. In this episode I share a story from the Bible about two figures you likely know and one you may not. I can think of no better story to illustrate the lasting impact of the kin…
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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. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn more about The Chosen HERE.…
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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 th…
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Hello there my friend. Thank you so very much for joining me today. We're beginning the year with some episodes looking at the big ideas of the Bible. We started last week by talking about the purpose of the Bible, why it matters and why it's important to study it. This week we're moving on to some concepts found in scripture that you might know as…
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Happy New Year! Welcome back to the Encouraging Word podcast. It's resolution season. All over the world people are resolving to exercise more, spend less, try a new hobby. A common resolution for people of faith is to read the Bible more and if that resonates, today's episode is for you! The Bible is the most important book for the Christian. It a…
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It’s that time of year when we're choosing gifts to give for Christmas. As the hero of the holidays, Jesus deserves our finest gift. But what could that be? We can look to the angels to know what Jesus really wants from us this Christmas. As a reminder, The Encouraging Word Podcast will be off next week, but we’ll back with new episodes in January.…
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Hello friend. Thanks for joining me today. Can you believe we’re halfway through December? Christmas will be here in just a few days. As you’re no doubt busy preparing for the holidays, I pray today’s episode gives you a few moments to reflect on the Savior who comes at just the right moment. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from H…
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Hi friend. I hope you’re doing well today. The past few episodes we’ve been talking about what it looks like to live in a way that reflects God’s glory to the world around us. We’ve considered different aspects of life where we can take the focus off ourselves and put it on God. For some, the most difficult time to do that is when we’re succeeding.…
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Hello my friend. I hope you’re having a good day. As we continue this series about living a life that reflects the glory of God, might I suggest that includes your struggles? We all have things in our lives we would change, things we wish we didn’t have to deal with. Illness, financial challenges, difficult relationships. But take comfort in this t…
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Hello friend. I hope you’re doing well today. This week on the podcast we’re looking at an issue that plagued the Philippian church—legalism. They trusted the work of Jesus but were trying to add a little something on their own. If you ever find yourself looking for “Jesus plus” something else, the apostle Paul says to you what he said to the Phili…
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Hello friend. Thanks for joining me on the Encouraging Word Podcast. We’re tackling a new topic today. For the next few weeks we’ll be talking about living a God-centered life. Now that might sound simple, but living a God-centered life means not living a me-centered life. Not quite so easy, but with God as our helper, it’s possible. Watch the Ark …
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Hello, my friend. I hope you’re having a good day. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things." God calls us to walk out sacrificial love. I pray this message encourages you. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn more about The Chosen…
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Hello, my friend. Thanks for joining me this week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast. We really live in contentious times. This episode is releasing the day before a Presidential Election here in the United States. Regardless of the outcome, some people are going to be disappointed. Maybe angry. Including some Christians. But, no matter whi…
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Hello, my friend. I hope you’re having a good day. This week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast we conclude our study of heaven’s timeline and what happens next. As I’ve studied and taught on this topic, I’ve been asked many times, “So, Max, are we living in the end times?” I think we are. And in today’s episode we consider the signs that i…
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Hello, friend. Welcome to the Encouraging Word Podcast. For the past several weeks we’ve been studying heaven’s timeline and God’s plan for the ages. Today’s episode brings us to a challenging topic. What happens to those who reject Jesus? There will be a judgment day. It will be a sobering event. But you don’t have to fear it. You don’t have to wo…
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Hello, my friend. Thanks for joining me this week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast. This world is not paradise. It doesn’t look like the perfect Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter one. Devastating weather events, ongoing war, famine and illness – all symptoms of our fallen world where Satan prowls. But a day is coming, friend. A day when C…
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This week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word podcast, as we continue our study of heaven’s timeline, we’re looking at the second coming of Christ. It won’t be like the first. Baby Jesus, sleeping in the manger – this is a familiar image. But it’s not the image of Christ’s return. When he comes again, it will be to rule and reign and answer the pray…
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Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Encouraging Word Podcast. We’re working our way down heaven’s timeline and God’s plan for the ages. Today we come to the period of tribulation. Scripture tells us this will be a dark, chaotic time, in part because the church and those who follow Jesus will be gone. But Scripture also tells us that this darkness…
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In last week’s episode of The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast, we talked about the rapture, and today we’re talking about what happens to the church after the rapture. I know these can be unsettling topics, but take heart, my friend – great celebrations in heaven await us. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Hear…
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Today on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast we're continuing our study on the end times. What purpose does the rapture serve? How can I believe that it will take place? Those are the questions we're beginning to answer today... Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn more about The Chosen HERE.…
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What do you know about the millennium? The 1,000 year reign of Christ as described in revelation. Maybe you've never heard of it, maybe you're confused by the thought of it, maybe you don't understand the purpose of it, or maybe you’re fascinated by it. Regardless of where you are in your consideration of this wonderful and intriguing promise, I th…
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We're continuing our study on the end times, and on today's episode of the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast, we're going to look at passage in the book of Daniel. Now bare with me, it is a bit challenging, but it is an important prophecy that warrants our careful examination. That's what we're doing today...digging into Daniel chapter 9. Watch t…
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Did you know that God has great plans for you? We get a glimpse of His plans for you in the Garden of Eden. A perfect garden where God's children, made in His image, live in perfect relationship with Him, with each other and perfected bodies in paradise. This story of the garden is more than a story...it's a picture, a description. It's a forecast …
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Hello friend. As I mentioned last week this Fall on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word podcast we'll be in a series called "What Happens Next.” Over the next several episodes we're going to look back at major events in the bible and we'll look forward to what Jesus has promised for the future. Let's do this with hope and urgency, and standing firm on …
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Join us for a special episode where K-Love's Lauree Austin sits down with Max Lucado to answer questions about his new book "What Happens Next"! Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn more about The Chosen HERE.由Max Lucado
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In this special episode of the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast, we're sharing an exclusive preview of Chapter 6 of Max's new book, What Happens Next. Learn more about The Solomon Foundation here. You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more …
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In this special episode of the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast, we're sharing an exclusive preview of Chapter 1 of Max's new book, What Happens Next. Learn more about The Solomon Foundation here. You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more …
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This summer on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word podcast we’ve been talking about what we can do to give every day a chance. That can feel especially challenging on a day when things don’t go according to plan, when you’re bumped off track. Just ask the apostle Paul. You think he planned to go to prison? You think Paul said to himself, “Some time in …
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Thanks for joining us today on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word podcast. On this episode we’re looking at a story in the New Testament about a daughter and the faith of her father. When the situation seemed hopeless, the father went to Jesus. And because he did, his family saw a miracle. Learn more about The Solomon Foundation here. You can find the…
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Do you ever feel anxious? I know there’s plenty to worry about – between wars and extreme weather and the economy, not to mention the more personal concerns of health struggles or strained relationships. But I also know what God says about worry. If you want to worry less, today’s message is just what you need. Learn more about The Solomon Foundati…
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In today’s episode of the Max Lucado Encouraging Word podcast, we’re looking back at the most important days in the history of our faith – the first Easter weekend. If you’re struggling in the pain of Friday or the silence of Saturday, may you remember that, in Christ, the celebration of Sunday is coming. Learn more about The Solomon Foundation her…
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Thanks for joining us on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word podcast this week. As we continue our series “Every Day Deserves a Chance,” let’s consider something that has derailed many a day – unforgiveness. Forgiving an offense doesn’t come easily, but doing so grows our understanding of grace. As you experience God’s mercy, and then share it with oth…
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In Luke chapter 17 we read the story of Jesus healing ten men with leprosy. This story tells us two important truths: one, it demonstrates the mercy of Christ. And two, it reminds us that God noticed a grateful heart. Learn more about The Solomon Foundation here. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn …
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John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Isn’t that something? He doesn’t just delay your sin or shove it way down in a drawer. He takes it away. May you rest today in that security. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn more about The Chosen HERE.…
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Imagine, on the most difficult day of your life, you encounter Jesus. That’s what happened to the thief on the cross. At his lowest moment, he was met with kindness and grace. And on your worst day, that kindness and grace will meet you too. Watch the Ark in the Darkness HERE. Find out more from Hope For The Heart Here. Learn more about The Chosen …
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