Inspiration from Mary's Friend, Max

I'm with Mary, who is a "Max" fan. That is, Max Lucado! I found this little inspiration in my study guide for the book of James. Written by Max Lucado, it comes from his book, The Applause of Heaven, which Mary probably has. I don't, however, I may check it out it soon!

Enjoy...

A prison of pride is filled with self-made men and women determined to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps even if they land on their rear ends. It doesn't matter what they did or to whom they did it, or where they end up; it only matters that "I did it my way."

You've seen the prisoners. You've seen the alcoholic who won't admit his drinking problem. You've seen the woman who refuses to talk to anyone about her fears. You've seen the businessman who adamantly rejects help, even when his dreams are falling apart.

Perhaps to see such a prisoner all you have to do is look in the mirror.

"If we confess our sins..." The biggest word in Scriptures just might be that two letter one, IF. For confessing sins--admitting failure--is exactly what prisoners of pride refuse to do.

"Well, I may not be perfect, but I'm better than Hitler and certainly kinder than Idi Amin!"
"Me a sinner? Oh, sure, I get rowdy every so often, but I'm a pretty good ol' boy."
"Listen, I'm as good as the next guy. I pay my taxes. I coach the Little League team. I even make donations to the Red Cross. Why, God's probably proud to have someone like me on his team."

Justification. Rationalization. Comparison. These are the tools of the jailbird. They sound good. They sound familiar. They even sound American. But in the kingdom, they sound hollow...

When you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there's truly no other one that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting.

That's something to chew on for today, my friends. I don't know who that was for today, maybe it's for me, but it's definitely worth sharing. I don't think I need to add anything to that at all.

Check out Mary's blog at www.marygeer.blogspot.com for more on the Word of God and being a woman (or man) of faith!