Hopefully these scriptures and prayers from Max Lucado's new book "Outlive Your Life" will shed some light on the true meaning of Christianity and our calling.
3-28-11 (FINAL CHAPTER 16):
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."
(Matt. 25:34-36 NLT)
O Lord, where did I see you yesterday...and didn't recognize you? Where will I encounter you today...and fail to identify you? O my Father, give me eyes to see, a heart to respond, and hand and feet to serve you wherever you encounter me! Transform me, Lord, by your Spirit into a servant of Christ, who delights to meet the needs of those around me. Make me a billboard of your grace, a living advertisement for the riches of your compassion. I long to hear your say to me one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant." And I pray that today I would be that faithful servant who does well at doing good. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
3-28-11 (CHAPTER 15):
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. (Col. 4:2-3 NLT)
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you created all that exists, and you sustain all through your infinite wisdom and boundless power. Yet you invite me to come to you in prayer, boldly and with the expectation that you will hear and answer me. Teach me, Lord, to take full advantage of this privilege, especially in regard to reaching others with your love. Give me a heart for those who have yet to experience the fullness of your grace, and prompt me to pray for them and for their welfare, both in this world and in eternity. Lord, bring me to the front lines of this battle. In Jesus' name I pray amen.
3-14-11 (CHAPTER 14):
You (Jesus) are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because your were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Rev. 5:9 NIV)
Father, you have used all types of people for your holy purposes: prostitutes, murderers, persecutors, liars, thieves, swindlers, the illiterate, the ignorant, the blind, the lame. Grant me the grace to treat everyone I meet as someone for whom Jesus died and rose again. Let there be no unwholesome or unholy distinctions in my eyes and no unworthy favoritism in my actions. Rather, make me into a vessel through whom Jesus shines, In Christ's name I pray, amen.
3-14-11 (CHAPTER 13):
I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. (1 Tim. 1:16 NIV)
O Lord, nobody lies beyond the grasp of your grace. Who in my life do I see as hopeless? What man or woman who currently seems far from you do you want to bring into your family, in part through me? What Saul is out there to whom I could become an Ananias? Father, I pray that you would show your greatness and your power by using me in some way to introduce and "unlikely candidate" to your son. Help me triumph over my fears and obliterate my misconceptions as your work through me to bring someone else, through faith, into the circle of your love. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
3-10-11 (CHAPTER 12):
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. (Romans 15:7 NLT)
Lord, in how many ways does my foolish heart make false distinctions among our people? Reveal them to me. How often do I judge someone as unworthy of you by the way I treat him or her? Rebuke me in your love. Where can I blast a wall or remove a barrier that keeps your children apart from one another? Give me some dynamite and the skill and courage to use it for your glory. What can I do in my sphere of influence to bring the love of Christ to someone who may feel ostracized or estranged from you? Lend me divine insight, and bless me with the resolve to be your hands and feet. May I be a bridge and not a wall. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
3-10-11 (CHAPTER 11):
What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as thought it were not a gift? (1 Cor. 4:7 NLT)
My Father, I desire that the attitude of John the Baptist might be my own-that Jesus would increase even as I decrease. Give me an ever-larger picture of you so I might see myself with ever-increasing clarity and revel each day in your amazing grace. Keep foolish pride far from me, and give me the sense to humble yourself in healthy ways that bring strength and joy to everyone around me. Remind me constantly Lord, that you hold my life and breath and eternal future in your loving hands and that every good thing I have comes from you. Never let me forget that although without you I can do nothing, in Christ I can do all things. The difference is you. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
3-4-11 (CHAPTER 10):
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. (James 1:27 NLT)
Dear Lord, you promised we would always have the poor among us. Help me to make sure that the reverse is also true: that I am always among the poor-helping, encouraging, and lending a hand wherever I can. Enable me to love the invisible God by serving the very visible poor in my corner of the world. Help me to be creative without being condescending, encouraging without being egotistic, and fearless without being foolish. May the poor bless you because of me, and may my efforts somehow reduce the number of the poor. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
2-26-11 (CHAPTER 9):
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matt. 6:3-4 NIV)
Lord, you hate hypocrisy. It turns others away from you. Blunt my natural inclination to seek personal recognition for whatever good things you allow me to do. I don't want to be a phony, but neither do I want to be a glory hound. Fill me with your Spirit, and teach me to follow his example in gladly giving all glory to your Son. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
2-26-11 (CHAPTER 8):
You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra-but the Lord rescued me from all of it. Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. (2Tim. 3:11-12 NLT).
Father, your warn us that persecution is coming. Not to alarm us but to prepare us for what's ahead-that we might endure and persevere. That these hard experiences would glorify you and benefit us. For that to happen, Lord, I need a reorientation of perspective and a change of focus. Help me see the world through your eyes by focusing on your son, remembering what he accomplished on the cross despite the persecution heaped on him. Whatever persecution I might suffer, Lord, let it bring you honor-and use it to help other followers of Jesus who will face their own persecution. I Christ's name I pray, amen.
2-25-11 (CHAPTER 7):
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. (Mark 6:34 NIV)
Gracious Lord, in the Bible you are called "the One who sees me," and I know that your eyes are always upon me to guide and protect and bless and correct. You have given me eyes too. Grant me the power to use them to truly see. Help me see those your put in my path-really see them, with all their hurts, their desires, their longings, their needs, their joys, and their challenges. As you open my eyes, prompt me to open wide my arms to offer whatever help and encouragement I have to give. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
2-25-11 (CHAPTER 6):
Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (1 Peter 4:9-10 NLT)
Heavenly Father, every breath is a gift from your hand. Even so, I confess that sometimes my own hand remains tightly closed when I encounter the needs of others. Please open both my hand and my heart that I might learn to open my door to others. As you help me open my heart and hand, O Lord, I ask that you also prompt me to open my life to those who need a taste of your love and bounty. In Jesus' name I pray.
2-24-11 (CHAPTER 5):
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If on falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! (Eccl. 4:9-10 NIV)
O Lord, I have been called to be part of a holy community. You did not call me in isolation but placed me in the body of Christ, along with every other believer in Jesus throughout the world in every age. Let us grow as a team, work as a team, worship as a team, weep, laugh, and live as a team. Grant me the wisdom and the strength to partner with you and my brothers and sisters in Christ. For Jesus' sake and in his name I pray, amen.
2-22-11 (CHAPTER 4):
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ (2 Cor. 5:19-21 NLT)
My blessed Savior and Lord, I praise you for freely giving me the Bread of Life. You replaced my darkness with your light, my fear with your security, and my despair with your hope. Remind me every day, Father, that the Bread of Life I have in Jesus comes to me by your grace and through your love-and that it delights your generous heart when I tell others where they can find and partake. Make me into an eager ambassador of Jesus Christ. Turn my fear into boldness so that heaven's streets may be filled with men and women who love the Savior, in part because they first heard of his grace and mercy from my lips. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
2-17-11 (CHAPTER 3):
God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has give us. (2 Cor. 1:4 NLT)
Gracious Father, you took the initiative to reach out to me-even in my sin and selfishness-in order to bring me into your eternal kingdom, through the work of Christ. I cannot fathom such love! And yet, Father, I try to hoard your grace! Put up walls of protection that I might keep hurt out and blessing in. I am like the clam that shut itself up in its shell, afraid of threats from the outside. You call me to unshell myself and to partner with you in your mission of love. Unshell me, Lord, that I, too, may reach out to a lonely, discouraged, and even hopeless world. In Jesus' name amen.
2-16-11 (CHAPTER 2):
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. (1 Cor. 1:26-27 NLT)
Loving Father, you made me, so you know very well that I am but dust. Yet you have called me into your kingdom to serve you at this specific place, at this specific time, for a very specific purpose. Despite my ordinariness, I belong to you-and you are anything but ordinary! Help me pour out your grace and compassion upon others that they, too, may experience the richness of your love. Through me, my Father, show others how you can use an ordinary life to bring extraordinary blessing into the world. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
2-15-11 (CHAPTER 1):
After David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried. (Acts 13:36 NLT)
O Lord, what an amazing opportunity you have spread out before me-a chance to make a difference for you in a desperately hurting world. Help me to see the needs you want met to see, to react in a way that honors you, and to bless others by serving them gladly with practical expressions of your love. Help me be Jesus' hands and feet, and through your Spirit give me the strength and wisdom I need to fulfill your plan for me in my own generation. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
