"TAKE INITIATIVE, THE DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY DON'T STAY OPEN INDEFINITELY!"
When we knowingly let people be on church stages and platforms, while they’re also living in unrepentant sin…
The mind of God is greater than all the minds of men, so let all men leave the gospel just as God has delivered it onto us -C.H. Spurgeon -
When Christians are fallen into any sin or any affliction for sin when they are tripped and undermined by their corruptions, the same power that raised Christ from the grave raises them from their sins daily, that they gather strength against them.” — Richard Sibbes
"Our down-castings are temporary; our uprisings are eternal." - Charles Spurgeon
"IN ORDER TO END UP AT THE PLACE GOD WANTS YOU TO ULTIMATELY BE, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO PASS THROUGH A PLACE YOU DON'T WANT TO BE. THINK ABOUT IT: I'M SURE THE PIT WASN'T JOSEPH'S PREFERRED PLACE TO BE, BUT HE ENDURED IT AND IT EVENTUALLY LEAD HIM TO THE PALACE!"
"SELF-CARE TIP: STOP RIPPING YOURSELF INTO PIECES TRYING TO KEEP EVERYBODY ELSE WHOLE!" THE CRAZY PART IS, FOR THE FIRST 75 YEARS OF HIS LIFE, ABRAM LIVED A NORMAL MESOPOTAMIAN LIFE. THEN GOD CAME CALLING! AND IN A MOMENT, THIS OLD MAN HAD VISION, PURPOSE, AND SOMEWHERE TO GO. YOU'RE NOT DONE YET! GOD'S GOT MORE FOR YOU TO DO! DON'T QUIT! DON'T GIVE UP!
IF YOU DON'T LIKE YOUR JOB, CHANGE IT! BECAUSE ALL THE COMPLAINING IN THE WORLD WON'T INCREASE YOUR PEACE OR PAYCHECK!
"THERE'S ABOUT TO BE A MAJOR PLOT TWIST IN YOUR LIFE STORY. IN THE END, GOD FLIPS THE WHOLE SCRIPT IN YOUR FAVOR AND CAUSES THE CHARACTER ATTACK AGAINST YOU TO WORK FOR YOU! TAKE NO VENGEANCE, LET GOD HANDLE YOUR VINDICATION." STOP BEING THE GO-TO PERSON FOR PEOPLE YOU CAN NEVER GO TO! YOU WERE HIT WITH AN OVERWHELMING BREAKDOWN, BUT THAT STILL WON'T STOP THE UNDENIABLE BREAKTHROUGH THAT'S ON THE WAY! HOLY SPIRIT, EVEN WHEN I CAN'T CONTROL WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND ME, OR TO ME, HELP ME TO ALWAYS CONTROL WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ME. MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT INSPIRED BY HEARING ABOUT A FLAWLESS JOURNEY TO SUCCESS, AFTER ALL, WHO CAN RELATE? WHAT IS INSPIRING IS OWNING YOUR STORY AND SHARING IT, UNEDITED, WITH ALL THE FAILED HURDLES AND HARDSHIPS YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO GET THERE! NOW THAT'S ENCOURAGEMENT!
"God is our strength when we are weak, our wisdom when we are foolish, and our hope when we are discouraged." — Billy Graham
Living by rules and regulations ("of the letter") has a deadening, binding spiritual effect on people. This is how the Pharisees "ministered." Jesus came to liberate people, to set them free. This is why Jesus ministered by the Holy Spirit.
“Life isn’t an accumulation of abstractions such as love and truth, sin and salvation, atonement, and holiness; life is…names and fingerprints, street numbers and local weather, a lamb for supper and a flat tire in the rain. God reveals Himself to us not in a metaphysical formulation or a cosmic fireworks display but in the kind of stories we use to tell our children who they are and how to grow up as human beings…The story is the Gospel way. The story isn’t imposed on our lives; it invites us into its life…The Holy Spirit weaves all this storytelling into the vast and holy literary architecture that reveals God to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…to get this revelation right, we enter into the story.”- Eugene Peterson
The Book of Proverbs compares searching the Scriptures to mining for gold. A modern version describes it this way: “If you make Insight your priority, and won’t take no for an answer, searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God” (2:3–5 MSG).
When you arrive at the last day of your life, you won’t care about how much money you have. But you will care about what the Bible says. This is the book that tells you how to go to Heaven. This is the book that helps you know God.
Are you holding on to bitterness? Have you allowed wrongs done to you to remain in your heart, leaving the sour taste of unforgiveness? Are you prone to excessive anger? Do you express your anger in ways that hurt others or even yourself? Does your anger keep you from having healthy relationships with colleagues, your boss, neighbors, or family members? Do you use words to hurt others, both in their presence and behind their backs? Do you tend to say things at work that put down your coworkers? Do you say things that later on you wish you could retract?
Are there other actions or attitudes in your life that cause pain and division in your relationships?
As you recognize behaviors in your life that are not so good, confess them to the Lord and ask for forgiveness.
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