He Chose the Nails Quotes

“The same hand that stilled the seas stills your guilt.
The same hand that cleansed the Temple cleanses your heart.
The hand is the hand of God.
The nail is the nail of God.
And as the hands of Jesus opened for the nail, the doors of heaven opened for you.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“But here the correlation with Beauty and the Beast ends. In the fable, the beauty kisses the beast. In the Bible, the beauty does much more. He becomes the beast so the beast can become the beauty. Jesus changes places with us. We, like Adam, were under a curse, but Jesus "changed places with us and put himself under that curse" (Gal. 3:13).”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“If pride is what goes before a fall, the shame is what keeps you from getting up after one.”
― max lucado , He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Want to know the coolest thing about the coming? Not that the One who played marbles with the stars gave it up to play marbles with marbles. Or that the One who hung the galaxies gave it up to hang doorjambs to the displeasure of a cranky client who wanted everything yesterday but couldn't pay until tomorrow.
Not that he, in an instant, went from needing nothing to needing air, food, a tub of hot water and salts for his tired feet, and, more than anything, needing somebody - anybody - who was more concerned about where he would spend eternity rather than where he would spend Friday's paycheck.
Or that he resisted the urge to fry the two=bit, self-appointed hall monitors of holiness who dared suggest that he was doing the work of the devil.
Not that he kept his cool while the dozen best friends he ever had felt the heat and got out of the kitchen. Or that he gave no command to the angels who begged, "Just give us the nod, Lord. One word and these demons will be deviled eggs."
Not that he refused to defend himself when blamed for every sin of every slut and sailor since Adam. Or that he stood silent as a million guilty verdicts echoed in the tribunal of heaven and the giver of light was left in the chill of a sinner's night.
Not even that after three days in a dark hole he stepped into the Easter sunrise with a smile and a swagger and a question for lowly Lucifer - "Is that your best punch?"
That was cool, incredibly cool.
But want to know the coolest thing about the One who gave up the crown of heaven for a crown of thorns?
He did it for you. Just for you.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“There are times when God sends thunder to stir us. There are times when God sends blessings to lure us. But then there are times when God sends nothing but silence as he honors us with the freedom to choose where we spend eternity.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“There is no one God won’t use.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and grey; we wouldn't have known the difference. But he didn't.
He splashed the orange in the sunrise
and cast the sky in clue.
And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you'll see that too.
Did he have to make the squirrel's tail furry?
Was he obligated to make the birds sing?
And the funny way that chickens scurry
or the majesty of thunder when it rings?
Why give a flower fragance?
Why give food its taste?
Could it be
he loved to see
that look upon your face?”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Yet when God entered time and became a man, he who was boundless became bound. Imprisoned in flesh. Restricted by weary-prone muscles and eyelids. For more than three decades, his once limitless reach would be limited to the stretch of an arm, his speed checked to the pace of human feet.
I wonder, was he ever tempted to regain his boundlessness? In the middle of a long trip, did he ever consider transporting himself to the next city? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather? When the heat parched his lips, did he give thought to popping over to the Caribbean for some refreshment?
If he ever entertained such thoughts, he never gave into them. Not once. Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort.
With one word, he could've transformed the hard earth into a soft bed, but he didn't. With a wave of his hands, he could've boomeranged the spit of his accusers back into their faces, but he didn't. With an arch of his brow, he could've paralyzed the hand of the soldier as he braided the crown of thorns. But he didn't.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 – 6 NIV”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Wise is the man who learns the nonverbal language of his wife, who notes the nod and discerns the gestures. It’s not just what is said, but how. It’s not just how, but when. It’s not just when, but where. Good husbanding is good decoding. You’ve got to read the signs.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Besides, consider what he did. He gave his Son. His only Son. Would you do that? Would you offer the life of your child for someone else? I wouldn’t. There are those for whom I would give my life. But ask me to make a list of those for whom I would kill my daughter? The sheet will be blank. I don’t need a pencil. The list has no names.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“So Jesus himself swung the hammer. The same hand that stilled the seas stills your guilt. The same hand that cleansed the Temple cleanses your heart. The hand is the hand of God. The nail is the nail of God. And as the hands of Jesus opened for the nail, the doors of heaven opened for you.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“This is why he refused to close his fist. He saw the list! What kept him from resisting? This warrant, this tabulation of your failures. He knew the price of those sins was death. He knew the source of those sins was you, and since he couldn’t bear the thought of eternity without you, he chose the nails.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“If the Bible is called the Good Book, it's not because its people are. Blood flows as freely through the stories as the ink through the quills that penned them.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“As hard as it is to believe, you could be only a Saturday away from a resurrection. You could be only hours from that precious prayer of a changed heart, "God, did you do this for me?”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Can you be more saved than you were the first day of your salvation? No. But can a person grow in salvation? Absolutely. It, like marriage, is a done deal and a daily development.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Why did he endure all these feelings? Because he knew you would feel them too.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Every gift reveals God's love... but no gift reveals his love more than the gifts of the cross. They came, not wrapped in paper, but in passion. Not placed around a tree, but a cross. And not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Having pressed the grapes of service, we drink life's sweetest wine —the wine of giving. We are at our best when we are giving. In fact, we are most like God when we are giving.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“If the Bible is called the Good Book, it’s not because its people are. Blood runs as freely through the stories as the ink through the quills that penned them.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“You and I are commanded—not urged, commanded—to keep no list of wrongs.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“You’ve already learned, haven’t you, that a promise made is not always a promise kept? Just because someone is called your dad, that doesn’t mean he will act like your dad. Even though they said “yes” on the altar, they may say “no” in the marriage.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“If so, don’t pretend nothing is wrong. Don’t pretend you don’t fall. Don’t try to get back in the game. Go first to God. The first step after a stumble must be in the direction of the cross. “If we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away” (1 John 1:9 CEV).”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“To others, Jesus was a miracle worker. To others, Jesus was a master teacher. To others, Jesus was the hope of Israel. But to John, he was all of these and more. To John, Jesus was a friend. You don’t abandon a friend—not even when that friend is dead. John stayed close to Jesus.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“God can turn any tragedy into a triumph, if only you will wait and watch.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Why is the cross the symbol of our faith? To find the answer look no farther than the cross itself. Its design couldn’t be simpler. One beam horizontal—the other vertical. One reaches out—like God’s love. The other reaches up—as does God’s holiness. One represents the width of his love; the other reflects the height of his holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Some accept the blood but forget the water. They want to be saved but don’t want to be changed. Others accept the water but forget the blood. They are busy for Christ but never at peace in Christ.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart

“Practically put, we love our neighbor and refrain from gossip. We refuse to cheat on taxes and spouses and do our best to love people who are tough to love. Do we do this in order to be saved? No. These are “the good things that result from being saved.”
― Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart