I can’t recall ever reading a book by Max Lucado and feeling disappointed by the overall quality and clarity of his work. The only disappointment is when the final page is turned and the last paragraphed read, and “The Great House of God” was able to both meet and surpass every expectation I had.

Max does a phenomenal job examining every portion of the Lord’s prayer which, as you will recall, spans only five verses of the Word of God. And yet despite the actual passage’s relative brevity, I was captivated by 240 pages of highly-visual language. As he points out, the Lord’s prayer is more than a set of eloquent words to be recited; it is a promise to be trusted. Furthermore, it lays the groundwork for what he calls The Great House of God: we can find fellowship in the family room, nourishment in the kitchen, and a reminder of our Father’s majesty in the chapel. The best part of all is that we have not merely been invited to this place for a short visit, but we are called to take up permanent residence in the home of our Creator.

The prayer of David in Psalm 27:4 was simple: “That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD.” If this is not currently your prayer, then certainly “The Great House of God” will convince you that it should be. Even if at this moment you feel no need for encouragement and are already dwelling this magnificent house, still consider picking up a copy of this worthwhile read. Perhaps it will open the doors to rooms you didn’t know existed.

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all expressed opinions are my own.

Click Photo to View Auction

Many of you are already familiar with The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). But for those who aren’t, they are a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide. They bring practical relief to persecuted Christians overseas in the form of blankets, health care and financial assistance, in addition to spiritual helps such as Christian literature and, most importantly, the Word of God.

Think for a moment about how challenging it would be to serve Christ without your own copy of God’s Word. Imagine the Bible being so precious, and yet so rare, your local church actually tore pages from a shared copy and distributed these among the congregation. If this sounds outrageous to you, it’s only because you’ve become accustomed to life in the Western World. Even if you personally face very little persecution for your faith, this is not the case for every believer worldwide. In fact, it has been estimated that there are more martyrs for Christ annually than at any other time in history.

If this seems like an injustice to you, consider getting directly involved through the ministry of VOM. There are a variety of ways you can contribute via their website, and I am personally auctioning off one of my nature photos (above) with 100% of the proceeds going to support VOM’s efforts to bring God’s Word to captive nations. I am donating both the photo itself and shipping costs, so what you pay is exactly what will be used to print and deliver Bibles to persecuted Christians across the globe. If you would like to place a bid, click here for the opportunity to do so and for more information. It’s a unique way to further the Kingdom of God and get an inspirational photograph to hang in your home at the same time.

Why are we here? This question has puzzled humanity for almost as long as humanity has existed, but probably never more so than it does in this 21st century. What children are taught in the public schools of our generation and the message we all are eventually subjected to by the world is simple: life is meaningless. We are said to be a mere byproduct of random chance, essentially consisting of little more than rearranged pond scum that will one day die and be forgotten. We’re supposedly no more valuable than a passing breeze or a stick of wood, for they, too, will soon pass away with little notice.

And yet despite Satan’s best efforts to convince us of these things, within each of our hearts is the yearning to do something important, something lasting, with our lives. Few of us never aspired to be an astronaut, the president or a movie star. Perhaps these aspirations were not as eternally significant as we once believed, but they nonetheless reflected a desire to live a purposeful life. Even as adults we pursue romance not only to love, but to be loved; we have children to leave a living part of us behind once we ourselves are gone; we write blog posts because we want to be part of a conversation deeper than next week’s weather forecast. Ultimately, I think one of the greatest fears deep within the heart of every human is that we will one day be forgotten.

As Christians, however, our faith is that we not only can find purpose in life, but that we were actually created with a Divine purpose – specifically, to enjoy an intimate relationship with our Creator and to do so in a way that brings constant glory to His name (Ps. 112:1; Rev. 3:20). And not only were we created with a purpose to fulfill in this life, but we have been given an invitation from God Himself  to spend eternity free from every doubt, fear, and insecurity in heaven with Him. If all of this isn’t enough to keep you motivated, recall that in the meantime we have been commissioned to execute the biggest rescue mission of all time by preaching the Gospel of salvation in all corners of the earth (Mark 16:15).

I’m not trying to give anybody an overinflated sense of importance. There are enough authors, speakers and musicians who make it their priority to build your self-esteem. That’s not my goal here. It’s simply to remind you of a simple yet profound Biblical truth: when He was on the cross, it was out of love for you and me. And through His death and resurrection, we are given hope and meaning much greater than we ever thought possible. So as you live your life, be careful never to allow this realization to slip away. The greatest misery one can experience is in feeling you haven’t a future (1 Cor. 15:19), but if you’re a Christian then the best is yet to come.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”

          -Psalm 100:4

I’m not against Black Friday. I wasn’t a big proponent of many local stores beginning their sales on Thanksgiving Day, but I did nonetheless serve as chauffeur and cart pusher in-chief to those in my family who had their eyes on some special bargain. Every year I diligently fulfill my assignment, waiting near some tall, brown pallet of merchandise to (hopefully) help a loved one snatch a deal without losing life or limb in the process. Even if you’re able to escape without injury, however, dealing with disgruntled employees and angry shoppers during the holiday season is inevitable.

But even though I’m not against Black Friday per se, I’m certainly not a fan. Just as the Christmas season seems to be more about lights and gifts than the birth of our Savior, it seems Thanksgiving, a day which once upon a time was about gratitude and contentment, is now the greediest day of the year. People were diving over other shoppers, pushing, shoving and yelling – all so they could save $20 on luxury. I understand the need to save money, but is 50% off really worth giving someone a black eye on Thanksgiving? Even though the scene was no less violent and chaotic than I’ve seen in years past, something about the fact that these people weren’t even waiting until the turkey had settled in their stomachs really put a knot in mine.

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

          -Colossians 3:15

Even if you’re someone who stays a mile away from the nearest department store when Thanksgiving rolls around, what’s the first thing you think of when the holiday is mentioned? Traveling to see family you really don’t like? Eating lots of food? Having a few days off work? It seems that very few people have been able to preserve much of what Thanksgiving was originally intended to be: a day to express our gratitude to the Giver of all good things (James 1:17).

So, no, I’m not preaching against Black Friday. As I’ve pointed out, I’ve generally participated in it to some extent myself (although I vowed after Thursday’s events to avoid it completely next year). My conviction is not that we should wait one more week to do our Christmas shopping; it’s that we cannot fail to give God thanks and expect His blessings to continue. So will you join me in seizing today’s opportunity to express our thankfulness to God? In the words of the Psalmist, “it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord” (Psalm 92:1).