The widest river in the world is a body of water called If Only. Are you standing on its shore?...

The If Only River

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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								Is the dread of death robbing you your joy of life? It can.
At the age of 37, Florence told her friends her life hung by a thread, and so she went to bed. And she stayed there—for 53 years! She did die, at the age of ninety. Except for three years, Florence cowered before the giant of death. During those years she made a name for herself, not as one who suffered, but as a friend of those who did. History’s most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale lived, as a slave of death.
What about you? Jesus came to deliver those who’ve lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Death sits in his jurisdiction. Psalm 139:16 (NLT) says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment laid out before a single day had passed.”

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																																									For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

In Jesus’ Jurisdiction


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								No one told me newborns make nighttime noises. All night long. They gurgle; they pant. They keep Daddy awake. One night I was on baby duty and Jenna’s breathing slowed. I leaned my ear onto her mouth to see if she was alive. When she burbled and panted, so did I. That’s when a tsunami of sobriety washed over me. We’re in charge of a human being!
I don’t care how tough you are. You may be a Navy SEAL who skydives behind enemy lines. Doesn’t matter. Moms have thirty-six weeks of reminders elbowing around inside them. Dads, our kick comes in the gut later. But it does come. And for me it came some years ago, in the midnight quiet of an apartment living room, as I held a human being in my arms.

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																																									For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Fatherhood


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								One of my favorite childhood memories is greeting my father as he came home from work. My brother and I would take our positions on the couch and watch cartoons, always keeping one ear alert to the driveway. Even the best “Daffy Duck” would be abandoned when we heard his car.
I’d run to meet Dad and get swept up in his big arms.  He’d put his big-brimmed straw hat on my head, and for a moment I’d be a cowboy. When we went indoors and opened his lunch pail, any leftover snacks—which he always seemed to have—were for my brother and me to split. What more could a five-year-old want?
But suppose my dad, rather than coming home, just sent some things home. No deal. That wouldn’t work. Even a five-year-old knows it’s the person, not the presents. It’s not the frills; it’s the father!

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																																									For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

It’s the Father


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								Each year God gives millions of parents a gift – a brand new baby. And dads make a decision. Make our children in our images? Or release our children to follow their God-given identities?
As dads, we accelerate or stifle, release or repress our children’s giftedness. They will spend much of life benefitting or recovering from our influence. But remember, our kids were God’s kids first. We tend to forget this fact, regarding our children as “our children,” as though we have the final say in their health and future. But we don’t. Wise are the parents who regularly give their children back to God. In the right time and the right way, God will give your child back to you.   

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																																									For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

A Parent’s Prayer


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								In Mark 5:23 we meet Jairus: a leader of the synagogue, one of the most important men in the community. But the man in this story is an humble man, who says again and again, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” He doesn’t barter with Jesus. He doesn’t negotiate. He doesn’t make excuses. He just pleads.
There are times when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you’re asking to receive. What could a man offer in exchange for his child’s life? So there are no games, no haggling. So Jairus asks for help. And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it. And God, who knows what it’s like to lose a child, empowers his Son.

																																												Read more Dad Time

																							
													
												
																					
																																									For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

The If Only River

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