Out Live Your Life by Max Lucado

Have you ever experienced, even for just a moment, a delusion of Grander?
In other words you wanted to be remembered as an EXPERT or just plain remembered long after you had died?

When I was younger I wanted to be known as an Expert for something. I read about EVERY book you can think of on cults and other world religions and could tell you their beliefs backwards and forwards and contrast them with Christianity.

then I got older and wanted something cooler, so I became a Music Expert. If you want to know anything about 70's thru 90's Christian Music I was your guy.
I could even figure out 9 out of every 10 song that people came in asking for... "It's on the radio, song by a guy and it has the word Jesus in it.."

But I was doing it all for myself. I also went through a long period where I wanted to be known in the church. I wanted to be in the front and share my knowledge that God had given me on leadership. But it was all about me. (You can see some of my posts about that if you go back about 2 years worth on this blog.)

Now though I see so much more out there, and hopefully if you know me and are reading this blog you have come to see JESUS and not ME in my actions and lifestyle.

Well, Last night I picked up a book. OUT LIVE YOUR LIFE by Max Lucado that I received through work for free to read from Thomas Nelson. I read 10 chapters last night in a matter of 3 hours and read the final 6 this morning off and on.

The idea of the book is helping us all to see that we were MADE to Make a difference.
Not to sit back and do nothing but to become involved in one way shape or form. But we are MANDATED by scripture to look after the oppressed... What did Isaiah say about Sodom? Their sin of debauchery led to their destruction? NO!! Their ignoring the poor, the abused, the lonely... that lead to their destruction!

This is a must read for all Christians who have a heart and a passion but just don't do it. They don't live it...

I was thinking about writing about the chapters that most convicted me, but looking over the contents I realize that I would be writing about each chapter...

So I guess let me talk about a couple KEY ones that hit me. Now remember I just read through Hole in our Gospel by Richard Sterns, I have been writing a devotional for short term missions groups, reading RADICAL by David Platt... I feel OVERWHELMED with a desire to do something but not really knowing how to sell all I have, get out of the Debt from school etc that has piled up over the years, and how to make that difference...

These chapters showed me some ways:
Chapter 3: Let God unshell you. This chapter talks about how we find ourselves living inside shells. Whenever we come across someone who is hurting or poor we hide inside our shells before we start to feel compassion for them.

Chapter 10: Stand up for the Have-Nots... the title says it all!

Chapter 13: Don't write off anyone.. This chapter talks about our ability to write everyone off who is different then us. The illustration in here about Max's personal lack of compassion for a homeless man while his mentor gave the vagrant his full attention and then food. It put him in his place when the mentor said that this vagrant may have been lying but there might have been just a bit of truth to his sadness and I needed to help him.

This is a book that you need to get. Your friends need to read it, your churches need to study it. I have not been more passionate about what one book can do then this one. At the end of each chapter there is a GOLD piece...

Max ends with a verse of challenge straight from Scripture and then a PRAYER.
these prayers are possibly more well thought thru then even the chapter. They are short, straight to the point but will help to internalize the entire chapter!

All I can say is WOW!! GET IT!