Read an Excerpt
Chapter One
Inspirational promises ABOUT COURAGE:
Don't be afraid, because I have saved you. I have called you by name, and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you. This is because I, the Lord, am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43:1-3
Don't worry, because I am with you. Don't be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you with my right hand that saves you.... I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and I tell you, "Don't be afraid. I will help you."
Isaiah 41:10, 13
How great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you have given to those who trust you. You do this for all to see. You protect them by your presence from what people plan against them. You shelter them from evil words.
Psalm 31:19-20
A note from Max ABOUT COURAGE:
Could you use some courage? Are you backing down more than you are standing up? Jesus scattered the butterflies out of the stomachs of his nervous disciples....
We need to remember that the disciples were common men given a compelling task. Before they were the stained-glassed saints in the windows of cathedrals, they were somebody's next-door-neighbors trying to make a living and raise a family. They weren't cut from theological cloth or raised onsupernatural milk. But they were an ounce more devoted than they were afraid and, as a result, did some extraordinary things.
Earthly fears are no fears at all. Answer the big question of eternity, and the little questions of life fall into perspective.
The Applause of Heaven
Let your words of hope and the promise of a glorious future in your kingdom give me hope and courage for today, Father. You are with me now as you will be throughout all eternity.
Inspirational promise ABOUT FAITH:
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.... It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God's command so what we see was made by something that cannot be seen.... Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.
Hebrews 11:1, 3, 6
The Good News shows how God makes people right with himself—that it begins and ends with faith. As the Scripture says, "But those who are right with God will live by trusting in him."
Romans 1:17
We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.... So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see....
2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18
A note from Max ABOUT FAITH:
Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good.... It is a choice to believe that the one who made it all hasn't left it all and that he still sends light into the shadows and responds to gestures of faith....
Faith is the belief that God will do what is right.
God says that the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers. The darker the room, the greater the need for light.
God's help is near and always available, but it is only given to those who seek it.
He Still Moves Stones
Father, help us renew our commitment to you, to release everything and to be owned and possessed by you. We long to submit ourselves to you so that we might know the holy freedom available to us only through your grace.
Inspirational promises ABOUT CONTENTMENT:
Serving God does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have. We brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out. But, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves and are caught in a trap. They want many foolish and harmful things that ruin and destroy people. The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.... I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens.... I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.
Philippians 4:6-7, 11-13
A note from Max ABOUT CONTENTMENT:
Satisfied? That is one thing we are not. We are not satisfied....
We take a vacation of a lifetime.... We satiate ourselves with sun, fun, and good food. But we are not even on the way home before we dread the end of the trip and begin planning another.
We are not satisfied.
As a child we say, "If only I were a teenager." As a teen we say, "If only I were an adult." As an adult, "If only I were married." As a spouse, "If only I had kids." ...
We are not satisfied. Contentment is a difficult virtue. Why?
Because there is nothing on earth that can satisfy our deepest longing. We long to see God. The leaves of life are rustling with the rumor that we will—and we won't be satisfied until we do.
When God Whispers Your Name
Father, keep us from being so blinded by possessions we cannot keep that we fail to see the eternal treasure we cannot lose.
Inspirational promises ABOUT LOVE:
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done. Love is not happy with evil but is happy with the truth. Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always remains strong.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
We know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
1 John 4:16
The Father himself loves you. He loves you because you loved me and believed that I came from God.
John 16:27
I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.
John 13:34-35
A note from Max ABOUT LOVE:
The single most difficult pursuit is truth and love.
That sentence is grammatically correct. I know every English teacher would like to pluralize it to read: The most difficult pursuits are those of truth and love. But that's not what I mean to say.
Love is a difficult pursuit.
Truth is a tough one, too.
But put them together, pursue truth and love at the same time and hang on baby, you're in for the ride of your life.
Love in truth. Truth in love. Never one at the expense of the other. Never the embrace of love without the torch of truth. Never the heat of truth without the warmth of love....
To pursue both is our singular task.
The Inspirational Study Bible
God of heaven, we see your hand stretching as far as the east is from the west. Put your hands and your arms around us and embrace us, Father. Then help us to stretch out our hands and arms to a world that desperately needs your love—and ours.
