Quotes from Max Lucado - "God Came Near"

"Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating him who we see. To see his Majesty and to imitate him, that is the sum of Christianity."

"'Love your neighbor' was spoken by a man whose neighbors tried to kill him... The challenge to leave family for the gospel was issued by one who kissed his mother goodbye in the doorway... 'Pray for those who persecute you' came from the lips that soon would be begging God to forgive his murderers."

"Something about death makes us accuse God of betrayal...

     You see, if God is God anywhere, he has to be God in the face of death. Pop psychology can deal with depression. Pep talks can deal with pessimism. Prosperity can handle hunger. But only God can deal with our ultimate dilemma - death. And only the God of the Bible has dared to stand on the canyon's edge and offer an answer. He has to be God in the face of death. If not, he is not God anywhere."

"Jesus' death was not the result of a panicking cosmological engineer. The cross wasn't a tragic surprise. Calvary was not a knee-jerk response to a world plummeting towards destruction. It wasn't a patch-job or a stop-gap measure. the death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril.

     No, it was part of a plan. It was a calculated choice. 'It was the Lord's will to crush him.' the cross was drawn into the original blueprint. It was written into the script. The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the mallet placed the spike against the writs of God, a master plan was fulfilled.

     What does that mean? It means Jesus planned his own sacrifice.

     It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved.

     It means he willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast.

     It means he voluntarily placed his Judas in the womb of a woman.

     It means Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem.

     And it also means he didn't have to do it - but he did."

"You have to wonder if God's most merciful act is his refusal to answer some of our prayers."

"Our problem is not so much that God doesn't give us what we hope for as it is that we don't know the right thing for which to hope."

15 More Top Quotes from John Maxwell's "The 360 Degree Leader"

"Short as life is, we make it still shorter 

by the careless waste of time." 

- Victor Hugo

"The key to personal development 

is being more growth oriented than goal oriented." 

- John Maxwell

"I don't think much of a man 

who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." 

- Abraham Lincoln

"The difference between what we do 

and what we are capable of doing 

would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."

 - Mahatma Gandhi

"You can't change where you started, 

but you can change the direction you are going. 

It's not what you are going to do, 

but it's what you are doing now that counts." 

- Napoleon Hill

"The most important single ingredient in the 

formula of success is knowing how 

to get along with people." 

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Your best friend is he who brings out 

the best that is within you." 

- Henry Ford

"When the eagles are silent, 

the parrots begin to jabber." 

- Winston Churchill

"People are like rubber bands. 

They are most valuable when they are stretched, 

not when they are at rest."  

- John Maxwell

"Relationship building is always 

the foundation of effective leadership."  

- John Maxwell

"Leaders aren't necessarily the first to cross the finish line 

- people who run alone are the fastest. 

Leaders are the first to bring all of their people 

across the finish line." 

- John Maxwell

"You never really know something 

until you teach it to someone else." 

- John Maxwell

"Any business or industry that pays equal rewards 

to its goof-offs and its eager beavers 

sooner or later will find itself with more goof-offs 

than eager beavers." 

- Mick Delaney

"I've never known a person focused on yesterday 

to have a better tomorrow." 

- John Maxwell

"The only conquests which are permanent 

and leave no regrets are our conquests over ourselves." 

- Napoleon Bonaparte

Top Ten Leadership Quotes from John Maxwell's "The 360 Degree Leader"

"The bottom line is this: 

Leadership is a choice you make, 
not a place you sit. 

Anyone can choose to become a leader 
wherever he is. 

You can make a difference 
no matter where you are."

 - John Maxwell

"Good leaders rarely think in 
terms of boundaries; 

instead, they think in 
terms of opportunities." 

- John Maxwell

"True heroism is remarkably sober, 
very undramatic. 

It is not the urge to surpass all 
others at whatever cost, 

but the urge to serve others 
at whatever the cost." 

- Arthur Ashe

"Some of us will do our jobs well, 
and some will not. 

But we will all be judged by 
only one thing - the result." 

- Vince Lombardi 

"I will go anywhere provided it's forward." 

- David Livingstone

"I love the man that can smile in trouble, 

that can gather strength from distress, 

and grow brave by reflection. 

'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, 

but he whose heart is firm, 

and whose conscience approves his conduct, 

will pursue his principles unto death." 

- Thomas Paine

"Until you value yourself, 
you won't value your time. 

Until you value your time, 

you won't do anything with it." 

- M. Scott Peck

"Leaders can give up many things. 

They can delegate many things. 

The one thing that the top leader 
can never let go of 

is final responsibility." 

- John Maxwell

"You learn resiliency and tenacity during 

tough assignments, not easy ones. 

When tough choices have to be made 

and results are difficult to achieve, 
leaders are forged." 

- John Maxwell

"The secret of success in life 

is for a man to be ready 
for his time when it comes." 

- Benjamin Disraeli