Showing results by narrator "Ben Holland" in All Categories

According to one research program, anxiety-related issues are the number one mental health problem among women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse among men. Stress-related ailments cost the nation $300 billion every year in medical bills and lost productivity. And use of sedative drugs like Xanax and Valium have skyrocketed in the last 15 years. Even students are feeling it. One psychologist reports that the average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.

Max Lucado invites you to examine the cross, contemplate its purpose, and celebrate its significance in He Chose the Nails.Go ahead and linger on the hill of Calvary. Rub a finger on the timber and press the nail into your hand. Taste the tinge of cheap wine and feel the scrape of a thorn on your brow. Touch the velvet dirt, moist with the blood of God. Allow the tools of torture to tell their story. Listen as they tell you why the hope of all humanity balances on the truth of the claims of the cross.

Does it ever feel like life is out of control? Could you use the reminder that God is in control? When tragedy strikes, people desperately search for answers. Believers and unbelievers alike find themselves turning to God. Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado tells us that, though it may not be quick or painless, God will use this mess for good.

How long has your Goliath stalked you? Invaded your first thought of the morning and last worry of the night? David knows a little something about facing giants. The shepherd boy seemingly had little to offer against the nine-foot, nine-inch Goliath. You could read his story and wonder what God saw in him. Throughout his life, David fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. But for those who know the threat of a Goliath, David gives this reminder: Focus on giants — you stumble. Focus on God — your giants tumble.

In his best-selling title Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado explains that God loves you just the way you are...but he refuses to leave you that way. Why? Because our ultimate goal should be a life that is just like Jesus. And with determination, faith, and God's help, we can all change for the better, no matter how long the bad habits have settled in. The reputation and recognition of the best seller is sure to make this new edition an instant favorite.

In Six Hours One Friday, Max Lucado delves into the meaning of Jesus' last hours on the cross. Through his death, your life has purpose and meaning. You are forgiven and loved by a savior who died for you. An empty tomb proclaims that death does not have the final word.

Common people. Maybe you heard their names in a childhood Sunday school class. They're not often the champions or the go-to sermon illustrations. They probably didn't stand at the foot of the cross or even hang next to Jesus on one of their own. But they pepper the pages of the Bible, reminding us that we're not alone. Just like you and me, these ordinary people stumbled and struggled. They faced their own sin and came face-to-face with a God who not only wipes it away, but also makes the common extraordinary.

If you are a fan of Grace for the Moment by New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado, you’ll enjoy Grace for the Moment: Volume II. This yearlong devotional features captivating wisdom that offers enough inspiration, power, and hope to carry you through the busiest of days. Every entry includes a Scripture and short devotional. With wisdom to help you see the everyday moments God is present, this devotional is great for any occasion—graduations, weddings, encouraging times, seasons of grief and loss, birthdays, and gifting holidays.

In more than 25 years of writing and ministry, Max Lucado has received thousands of such questions. They come in letters, emails, even on Dunkin Donuts napkins. In Max on Life, he offers thoughtful answers to more than 170 of the most pressing questions on topics ranging from hope to hurt and from home to the hereafter.

From New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado, these 100 devotions will help kids worry less, bravely try new things, and draw closer to God as they learn to trust his faithfulness. Adapted from the encouraging devotional for adults, You Can Count on God for Kids teaches children that they can depend on God because he will never leave them and will love them unconditionally.

Do you want to overcome your anxiety? Do you want to be free from the worries that weigh you down? If you're trembling on a tightrope of fear and worry, get ready for the best trade ever: your cares for God's calm. That's God's offer. Best-selling author Max Lucado understands what it's like to feel overwhelmed by anxiety. You'll learn how to exchange your burdens for an abundance of mercy, gratitude, and trust; replace striving and stress with a faith-filled life, so you can see God's goodness; feel calm in chaos and find peace through prayer; and make faith your default reaction.

"Sweet spot." Golfers understand the term. So do tennis players. Ever swung a baseball bat or paddled a Ping-Pong ball? If so, you know the oh-so-nice feel of the sweet spot. Life in the sweet spot rolls like the downhill side of a downwind bike ride. But you don't have to swing a bat or a club to know this. What engineers give sports equipment, God gave you. A zone, a region, a life precinct in which you were made to dwell. He tailored the curves of your life to fit an empty space in his jigsaw puzzle.

Could you use a daily reminder of His love? The devotions in Live Loved by New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado will calm your soul and nourish your heart. Each of the 150 devotions include a prayer and Scripture verses that nurture your spiritual life by helping you to live in God’s presence. Live Loved is a wonderful book for men and women wanting to deepen their relationship with God with a daily devotional.

Are you ready to move from insecure to God secure? From regret riddled to better-because-of-it? From afraid to die to ready to fly? Today, find freedom in God's grace. We often talk about grace, but do we really understand it? Grace politely occupies a phrase in a hymn and fits nicely on a church sign. It never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked, "Do you believe in grace?" who could say no? Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado helps us dive deeper into what it means to be changed by grace.

Weaving baseball history with personal memoir, this book is one that will make you thrill to victory, believe in hope, stand up to cheer for what is good in peoples' lives. It's a powerful story of redemption and faith that reminds us that God can work in our lives even when we think it's too late to change - and sometimes he sends us signs from heaven if we only have eyes to see.

The Iremongers are a mean and cruel family, robust and hardworking, living in the Heaps, a vast sea of lost and discarded items. A storm is brewing over Heap House. The Iremongers are growing restless and the whispers are getting louder. When Clod meets Lucy, a girl newly arrived from the city, everything changes. The secrets that bind Heap House together begin to unravel to reveal a dark truth that threatens to destroy Clod's world.

Don’t let your life be mired by dissatisfaction, discontentment, or disappointment any longer. In How Happiness Happens, Max Lucado shares the unexpected path to a lasting happiness, one that produces reliable joy amidst any life circumstance. Based on the teachings of Jesus and backed by modern research, this audiobook presents a surprising but practical way of living that will change you from the inside out.

You can tell a lot about a person by the way he dies.In the last week of his life, Jesus deliberately sets his face toward Jerusalem - and certain death. This is no ordinary week. Even the angels are silent as they ponder the final days of Jesus Christ. This is no ordinary walk. Jesus doesn't chatter. He doesn't pause. He is on his final journey.He walks determinedly to the holy city, angrily into the temple, wearily into Gethsemane, painfully up the Via Dolorosa. And powerfully out of the vacated tomb.

A joy that can't be quenched? A peace that can't be broken? A happiness that can't be threatened? There is such a joy. It is a sacred delight, a holy gladness. You can't open your Bible without reading about it. You can't live a truly satisfying life without it. And it's nearer than you think. Jesus describes that sacred delight in the astonishing mountain message we call the Beatitudes. And Max Lucado, in this classic exploration of enduring joy, shows you how this familiar but revolutionary prescription for living can bless your life beyond your wildest imagining.

We live in a busy world; from work and family obligations to friendships and faith, daily life can sometimes make us dizzy with stress or overcome with worry. And though many of us try to slow down, it can be difficult to calm our minds and tune our hearts into the messages that matter most. But the good news is that peace and comfort are attainable, even when your heart is at its most restless. In Peace with the Psalms, authors from Abide Christian Meditation lead you through the best of the Psalms so you can find peace and renewal in God's promises.