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    On the Anvil
    On the Anvil
    On the Anvil
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    On the Anvil

    By Max Lucado

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    We are all somewhere in the Blacksmith's shop. We are either on the scrap pile, in the Master's hands on the anvil, or in the tool chest. (Some of us have been in all three.) In this collection of writings, best-selling author Max Lucado takes us on a tour of the “shop.” We'll examine all tools and look in all corners, from the shelves to the workbench, from the water to the fire. And for you who make the journey—who leave the heap and enter the fire, dare to be pounded on God's anvil, and doggedly seek to discover your own purpose—take courage, for you await the privilege of being called “God's chosen instruments.” This new edition includes discussion questions and a new foreword from the author.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTyndale House Publishers
    Release dateOct 16, 2015
    ISBN9781496415301
    On the Anvil
    Author

    Max Lucado

    Since entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami, Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as the teaching minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is the recipient of the 2021 ECPA Pinnacle Award for his outstanding contribution to the publishing industry and society at large. He is America's bestselling inspirational author with more than 150 million products in print. Visit his website at MaxLucado.com Facebook.com/MaxLucado Instagram.com/MaxLucado Twitter.com/MaxLucado Youtube.com/MaxLucadoOfficial The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast

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    Reviews for On the Anvil

    3.5/5

    29 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Max Lucado has such a wonderful way with words. As he says in his foreward these are pieces were composed when he was an associate pastor. His symbolism is quite unique to me and very well thought through and descibed. Descibing God as the craftsman and his people as his tools. Some of the tools heaped in a corner, some useless, some still on the anvil, being shaped by the craftman's hammer, waiting to be shaped.
    • 4/5
      Very good debut.

    Book preview

    On the Anvil - Max Lucado

    Part One

    1

    THE PILE OF BROKEN TOOLS

    To find me, look over in the corner of the shop,

    over here,

    behind the cobwebs,

    beneath the dust,

    in the darkness.

    There are scores of us,

    broken handles,

    dulled blades,

    cracked iron.

    Some of us were useful once, and then . . . many of us never were.

    But, listen, don’t feel sorry for me.

    Life ain’t so bad here in the pile . . .

    no work,

    no anvils,

    no pain,

    no sharpening,

    And yet, the days are very long.

    Are you broken, too?

    Do you think God might be calling you off the pile? What would that require of you?

    2

    I AM VERY WEARY

    It will be remembered as one of the most confounding missing-persons cases.

    In August 1930, forty-five-year-old Joseph Crater waved good-bye to friends after an evening meal in a New York restaurant, flagged down a taxi, and rode off. He was never seen or heard from again.

    Fifty years of research has offered countless theories but no conclusions. Since Crater was a successful New York Supreme Court judge, many have suspected murder, but a solid lead has never been found. Other options have been presented: kidnapping, Mafia involvement, even suicide.

    A search of his apartment revealed one clue. It was a note attached to a check, and both were left for his wife. The check was for a sizable amount, and the note simply read, I am very weary. Love, Joe.

    The note could have been nothing more than a thought at the end of a hard day. Or it could have meant a great deal more—the epitaph of a despairing man.

    Weariness is tough. I don’t mean the physical weariness that comes from mowing the lawn or the mental weariness that follows a hard day of decisions and thinking. No, the weariness that attacked Judge Crater is much worse. It’s the weariness that comes just before you give up. That feeling of honest desperation. It’s the dispirited father, the abandoned child, or the retiree with time on his hands. It’s that stage in life when motivation disappears: the children grow up, a job is lost, a spouse dies. The result is weariness—deep, lonely, frustrated weariness.

    Only one man in history has claimed to have an answer for it. He stands before all the Joseph Craters of the world with the same promise: Come to me, all you who are weary . . . and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

    Have you ever been truly weary? What do you do when you feel that way?

    Have you ever known the rest Christ offers? If not, why not?

    How do you place yourself in Christ’s rest?

    3

    NOW, DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY!

    Peter followed at a distance.

    LUKE 22:54

    Peter was sharp.

    He kept his distance from Jesus.

    I’ll stay close enough to see him, Peter reasoned.

    But not too close, or I may get caught.

    Good thinking, Peter.

    Don’t get too involved—it might hurt.

    Don’t be too loyal—you might get branded.

    Don’t show too much concern—they’ll crucify you, too.

    We need more men like you, Peter.

    Men who keep religion in its place.

    Men who don’t stir the water.

    Men who reek with mediocrity.

    That’s the kind of man God needs, yessir.

    One who knows how to keep his distance:

    "Now, I’ll pay my dues and I’ll come once a week,

    but . . . well . . . you can get carried away, you know."

    Yes, you can get carried away

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