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If You Knew That Only A Few Would Care That You Came, Would You Still Come? If You Knew That Those You Loved Would Laugh In Your Face, Would You Still Care? If You Knew That The Tongues You Made Would Mock You, The Mouths You Made Would Spit At You, The Hands You Made Would Crucify You, Would You Still Make Them? Christ Did.

-Max Lucado

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If You Knew That

Max Lucado

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If You Knew That Only A Few Would Care That You Came, Would You Still Come? If You Knew That Those You Loved Would Laugh In Your Face, Would You Still Care? If You Knew That The Tongues You Made Would Mock You, The Mouths You Made Would Spit At You, The Hands You Made Would Crucify You, Would You Still Make Them? Christ Did.

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Prayer Is The Window That God Has Placed In The Walls Of Our World. Leave It Shut And The World Is A Cold, Dark House. But Throw Back The Curtains And See His Light. Open The Window And Hear His Voice. Open The Window Of Prayer And Invoke The Presence Of God In Your World.

I Think "creative Preaching" Is Redundant.

I've Never Really Prided Myself As Being Quick On My Feet.

Has Worrying About Tomorrow Every Changed It?

If Jesus Heals Instantly, Praise Him. If Jesus Heals Gradually, Trust Him. When Jesus Heals Ultimately, You Will Understand.

I Think You Can Tilt Too Far To The Side Of The Story Where The Message Is Just Simply Entertainment. So I Think Your Goal Has To Be To Craft In One Sentence What The Truth Is You Are Trying To Convey. And Then You Find Or Create A Story That You Wrap Around That Truth.

When You Keep The Porch Light On For The Prodigal Child, You Do What God Does Every Single Moment.

There's No Person God Cannot Reach.

God's Highest Desire Is Not To Make Us Rich, Successful Or Popular. His Goal Is To Make Us His

We Are Jesus Christ's; We Belong To Him. But Even More, We Are Increasingly Him. He Moves In And Commandeers Our Hands And Feet, Requisitions Our Minds And Tongues. We Sense His Rearranging: Debris Into The Divine, Pig's Ear Into Silk Purse. He Repurposes Bad Decisions And Squalid Choices. Little By Little, A New Image Emerges.

I've Never Been Surprised By God's Judgment, But I'm Still Stunned By His Grace.

Of All The Things You Must Earn In Life, God's Unending Affection Is Not One Of Them. You Have It.

The Wonders Of Nature Call To You. The Promises And Prophecies Of Scripture Speak To You. God Himself Reaches Out To You.

If We Can Understand That Death Is Not The End But Is Really A Transition Into The Next Life, The Great Part Of Life, That Frees Us Up Into Receiving God's Courage And His Help.

The Path Marked Pride Will Lead You Over A Cliff.

Being Religious Without Knowing The Cross Is Like Owning A Mercedes With No Motor. Pretty Package, But Where Is Your Power?

If You Knew That Only A Few Would Care That You Came, Would You Still Come? If You Knew That Those You Loved Would Laugh In Your Face, Would You Still Care? If You Knew That The Tongues You Made Would Mock You, The Mouths You Made Would Spit At You, The Hands You Made Would Crucify You, Would You Still Make Them? Christ Did.

Love The One Who Wears Your Ring. And Cherish The Children Who Share Your Name. Succeed At Home First.

There Are Some People That Say I Need To Be More Academic In My Teaching, I Need To Be More Disciple Developing Focus, Probably True. But Where My Heart Is, Is With People Who Are Just Passing Through Difficult Time. I Want To Put Literature In A Form That Is Accessible For People Who Don't Particularly Read Books.

We Need To Remember That The First Disciples Were Ordinary Men Called To An Extraordinary Mission. Their Devotion To Jesus Outweighed- By Hair- Their Fears And Insecurities. As A Result God Change Them And Use Them To Accomplish Some Mind-boggling Things. Why Couldn't God - Why Wouldn't God Do The Same In Your Life?

There Are Some Facts That Will Never Change. One Fact Is That You Are Forgiven. If You Are In Christ, When He Sees You, Your Sins Are Covered-he Doesn't See Them. He Sees You Better Than You See Yourself.

Forgiveness Is Choosing To See Your Offender With Different Eyes.

There Is A Canyon Of Difference Between Doing Your Best To Glorify God And Doing Whatever It Takes To Glorify Yourself. The Quest For Excellence Is A Mark Of Maturity. The Quest For Power Is Childish.

You Are Never More Like Jesus Than When You Pray For Others. Pray For This Hurting World.

You Wonder If God Has A Place For A Person Like You. Find Your Answer In The Bethlehem Stable.

The Book On My Nightstand Right Now Isnt Anything That Inspired Me, But It Entertained Me. I Read A Book On Labor Day, It Was A Holiday, And I Have Three Daughters, And We All Went To The Shopping Mall And I Sat On The Bench And Read A Book While They Shopped, It Was Called The Greatest Golfer There Ever Was, It Was A Great Book, Easy To Read And Entertaining.

God Has Enough Grace To Solve Every Dilemma You Face, Wipe Every Tear You Cry, And Answer Every Question You Ask.

How Grimy Did God Get When He Reached Down To Clean You Up? How Grimy Are You Willing To Get In Order To Be An 'imitator Of God'?

It's My Hope That As You Dip Your Toe Into The Bible's Story And Viewpoint, You'll Find Yourself Feeling That The Good Book Knows More About The World - And About You - Than Any Normal Book Does.

Finding Yourself

Be Kind To Yourself. God Thinks You're Worth His Kindness. And He's A Good Judge Of Character.

Forgiveness Is Unlocking The Door To Set Someone Free And Realising You Were The Prisoner!

There Is Something About Keeping Him Divine That Keeps Him Distant, Packaged, Predictable. But Don't Do It. For Heaven's Sake, Don't. Let Him Be As Human As He Intended To Be. Let Him Into The Mire And Muck Of Our World. For Only If We Let Him In Can He Pull Us Out.

Parents, What Are Your Children Learning From Your Worship? Do They See The Same Excitement As When You Go To A Basketball Game? Do They See You Prepare For Worship As You Do For A Vacation? Do They See You Hungry To Arrive, Seeking The Face Of The Father? Or Do They See You Content To Leave The Way You Came?.....they Are Watching. Believe Me. They Are Watching.

God Knows Just The Place Where You'll Be Placed. He Has A Barren Living Room In Desperate Need Of Warmth And Joy. A Corner Of The World Needs Some Color. He Selected You With That Place In Mind.

I Am Very Confident In Preaching.

When Jesus Died On The Cross, So Did Your Sin; When He Rose From The Dead, So Did Your Hope.

My First Encounters With Faith Came About The Time I Was A Boy Scout, At About 14 Or 15. I Made The Logical Deduction That They Operate The Same Way; I Treated My Faith Like Earning A Merit Badge, And Everything About Christianity Was About Earning Merit Badges.

It's No Wonder, That God's Anxiety Therapy Includes A Large, Delightful Dollop Of Gratitude. The Anxious Heart Says, "lord, If Only I Had This, That, Or The Other, I'd Be Okay." The Grateful Heart Says, "oh, Look! You've Already Given Me This, That, And The Other. Thank You, God."

Were It Not For The Shepherds, There Would Have Been No Reception. And Were It Not For A Group Of Stargazers, There Would Have Been No Gifts.

Not Everybody Can Create A Foundation That's Worth A Billion Dollars, But All Of Us Can Figure Out Those Things We Do. I Really Think God Loves Us Too Much To Give Us An Assignment We Don't Enjoy Doing.

What To Change Your Life? Begin By Saying, "the Lord Is My Shepherd."

Changing Your Life

It's Against God's Nature To Remember Forgiven Sins

I Don't Get The Impression That Most Sources Of Media - Like Television And Movies - Are Trying To Get Out A Positive Message, Necessarily. My Impression Is They're Trying To Get A Message Out That Promotes Their Personal Opinion, Position Or Belief And They're Trying To Do Something That Makes Money. They Want To Turn A Buck.

Personal Opinions

Heaven Is Beyond Our Imagination . . . . At Our Most Creative Moment, At Our Deepest Thought, At Our Highest Level, We Still Cannot Fathom Eternity.

Humility Has Such Power. Apologies Can Disarm Arguments. Contrition Can Defuse Rage. Olive Branches Do More Good Than Battle Axes Ever Will.

We Enjoy The Fruit Of The First Coming But Anticipate The Glory Of The Second.

There's An Antidote To Our Fears- Trust. If We Trust God More,we Can Fear Less.

God Wants To Help You Find Your Way Home.

Maybe Your Life Resembles A Bethlehem Stable. Crude In Some Spots, Smelly In Others. Not Much Glamour. Not Always Neat. People In Your Circle Remind You Of Stable Animals: Grazing Like Sheep, Stubborn Like Donkeys, And That Cow In The Corner Looks A Lot Like The Fellow Next Door. You, Like Joseph, Knocked On The Innkeeper's Door. But You Were Too Late. Or Too Old, Sick, Dull, Damaged, Poor, Or Peculiar. You Know The Sound Of A Slamming Door.

I Remember Enjoying Writing Those, Theres Two Clues Of A Gift: You Enjoy Doing It And People Enjoy You Doing It.

Grace Is The Voice That Calls Us To Change And Then Gives Us The Power To Pull It Off.

The Promised Land, For Many People, Though, Is Something That's Far Off In The Future. People Are Saved, But They Don't Feel Victory. They Feel Like They're In A Wilderness And They're Wandering. And So This Book Of Joshua Gives Us A Picture Of How We Can Come Out Of The Wilderness In Our Own Spiritual Lives And Enter Into A Season Of Victory.

God Sees Us With The Eyes Of A Father. He Sees Our Defects, Errors And Blemishes. But He Also Sees Our Value.

God Cast You In His Play, Wrote You Into His Story. He Has A Definite Direction For Your Life. Fulfill It And Enjoy Fulfillment. Play The Part God Prepared For You And Get Ready For Some Great Days.

What Makes A Christian A Christian Is Not Perfection But Forgiveness.

When It Comes To Christ, You've Got To Do The Same. Call Him Crazy, Or Crown Him As King. Dismiss Him As A Fraud, Or Declare Him To Be God. Walk Away From Him, Or Bow Before Him, But Don't Play Games With Him.

If God Had A Refrigerator, Your Picture Would Be On It. If He Had A Wallet, Your Photo Would Be In It. He Sends You Flowers Every Spring And A Sunrise Every Morning... Face It, Friend. He Is Crazy About You!

His Is A Joy Which Consequences Cannot Quench. His Is A Peace Which Circumstances Cannot Steal.

Usually I'm Able To Prepare A Message About Two To Three Weeks In Advance.i Know Some Preachers Don't Like That. They Want To Be Finishing It On Friday Before They Preach It On Sunday, But Our Worship Team Really Likes Me To Get It Done Way In Advance.

A Couple Of Things Have Helped. One Is That I Dont Travel Any, That Takes A Lot Of Time From Peoples Schedules, If They Travel, So I Dont Travel.

God Has Forgiven You; You'd Be Wise To Do The Same

First, God Does Not Send People To Hell. He Simply Honors Their Choice. Hell Is The Ultimate Expression Of God's High Regard For The Dignity Of Man. He Has Never Forced Us To Choose Him, Even When That Means We Would Choose Hell.

I Believe Ingratitude Is The Original Sin. I Believe If Adam And Eve Had Been Grateful For The Garden Of Eden They Had, They Would Not Have Been So Focused On The One Tree They Didn't Have.

If God Had A Refrigerator, Your Picture Would Be On It.

I Do Believe That Leaders Have To Be Held To A Higher Standard, Especially Christian Leaders. I Put Myself In That Camp.

A Book Should Be A Garden That Fits In The Hands. Word-petals Of Color. Stems Of Strength. Roots Of Truth. Turn A Page And Turn The Seasons. Read The Sentence And Enjoy The Roses.

We Will Never Be Cleansed Until We Confess We Are Dirty. And We Will Never Be Able To Wash The Feet Of Those Who Have Hurt Us Until We Allow Jesus, The One We Have Hurt, To Wash Ours.

Fear Never Wrote A Symphony Or Poem, Negotiated A Peace Treaty, Or Cured A Disease. Fear Never Pulled A Family Out Of Poverty Or A Country Out Of Bigotry. Fear Never Saved A Marriage Or A Business. Courage Did That. Faith Did That. People Who Refused To Consult Or Cower To Their Timidities Did That. But Fear Itself? Fear Herds Us Into A Prison And Slams The Doors. Wouldn't It Be Great To Walk Out?

If We Are To Be Just Like Jesus, We Must Have Regular Time Of Talking To God And Listening To His Word.

Every Other Religion Is A Salvation By Self, Christianity Is A Salvation By Christ.

The Idea Of A Spiritual Heart Transplant Is A Vivid Image To Me; Once You Have The Heart Of Somebody Else Inside You, Then That Heart Is There. Jesus' Heart Is Inside Me, And My Heart Is Gone. So If God Were To Place A Stethoscope Against My Chest, He Would Hear The Heart Of Jesus Christ Beating.

I'm Convinced That The Christian Claim Is Really True, That This Is Just A Warm Up To The Big Event. That This Is Just The Appetizer To The Feast, And If We Can Plug Into That And Understand That This Part Of Our Story Is Just The Introduction, It Is Not Even The First Line Of The First Paragraph, It's Just The First Letter Or First Word. We Are Just Getting Started.

You Don't Have To Be Dishonest To Communicate The Gospel.

The Land Of Promise Is For Those Who Simply Remain To The End.

Grace Is Not Blind. It Sees The Hurt Full Well. But Chooses To See God's Forgiveness Even More.

He Came, Not As A Flash Of Light Or As An Unapproachable Conqueror, But As One Whose First Cries Were Heard By A Peasant Girl And A Sleepy Carpenter. God Tapped Humanity On Its Collective Shoulder, "pardon Me," He Said, And Eternity Interrupted Time, Divinity Interrupted Carnality, And Heaven Interrupted The Earth In The Form Of A Baby. Christianity Was Born In One Big Heavenly Interruption.

I'm Thinking, "what Difference Will This Sermon Make In Their Lives Tomorrow? What Am I Trying To Give Them That Will Make A Difference?" For Example, Had To Do With The Theme That Jesus Will Not Let Go Of You. He's Holding Onto You. I Talked To Them About The Disciples And Peter On The Night Before The Crucifixion Of Christ - How Jesus Said That All Of You Are Going To Turn Away, But He Would Be Waiting For Them In Galilee.

When You Are In The Final Days Of Your Life, What Will You Want? Will You Hug That College Degree In The Walnut Frame? Will You Ask To Be Carried To The Garage So You Can Sit In Your Car? Will You Find Comfort In Rereading Your Financial Statement? Of Course Not. What Will Matter Then Will Be People. If Relationships Will Matter Most Then, Shouldn't They Matter Most Now?

Democracy Is The Right Choice And Is The Greatest Form Of Government Ever Created.

I Choose Gentleness... Nothing Is Won By Force. I Choose To Be Gentle. If I Raise My Voice May It Be Only In Praise. If I Clench My Fist, May It Be Only In Prayer. If I Make A Demand, May It Be Only Of Myself.

I Want A Real Take-home Quality To The Sermon, So I Built The Whole Sermon Series Around The Word Grace, Those Five Letters.

Be Careful What You Think, Because Your Thoughts Run Your Life.

I Struggle With Trying To Be A Good Pastor Of A Large Church.

If I'm A Young Mom Or Young Dad, I Can Find A Great Source Of Strength. God Has Promised That He Will Help Me To Be The Mom Or Dad That He Wants Me To Be. He Has Promised To Be With Me Every Step Of The Way. He Has Promised That He Will Never Leave Me Or Forsake Me. These Are Wonderful Promises That I Can Learn To Trust And Build A Life On.

God Does Not Exist To Make A Big Deal Out Of Us. We Exist To Make A Big Deal Out Of Him. It's Not About You. It's Not About Me. It's All About Him.

God Is Faithful Even When His Children Are Not.

God Is Faithful

Our Prayers May Be Awkward. Our Attempts May Be Feeble. But Since The Power Of Prayer Is In The One Who Hears It And Not In The One Who Says It, Our Prayers Do Make A Difference.

The Step Between Prudence And Paranoia Is Short And Steep. Prudence Wears A Seat Belt. Paranoia Avoids Cars. Prudence Washes With Soap. Paranoia Avoids Human Contact. Prudence Saves For Old Age. Paranoia Hoards Even Trash. Prudence Prepares And Plans, Paranoia Panics. Prudence Calculates The Risk And Takes The Plunge. Paranoia Never Enters The Water.

You'll Get Through This. It Won't Be Painless. It Won't Be Quick. But God Will Use This Mess For Good. In The Meantime Don't Be Foolish Or Naïve. But Don't Despair Either. With God's Help You Will Get Through This.

I Wanted To Talk About How Grace In And Of Itself Changes Us. It Changes The Way We Treat Other People, The Way We View Our Lives, The Way We Treat Our Purpose And Our Eternal Identity.

I Certainly Don't Mean To Leave The Impression That Anxiety Can Be Waved Away With A Simple Pep Talk. In Fact, For Some, God's Healing Will Include The Help Of Therapy And/or Medication. If That's The Case, Do Not For A Moment Think That You're A Second-class Citizen Of Heaven. Ask God To Lead You To A Qualified Counselor Or Physician Who'll Provide The Treatment You Need. This Much Is Sure: It's Not God's Will That You Lead A Life Of Perpetual Anxiety. It's Not His Will That You Face Every Day With Dread And Trepidation.

It's Up To Me To Promote My Faith And Somebody Else To Promote Theirs. Let The Government Just Protect Our Right To Do So.

When We Submit To God's Plans, We Can Trust Our Desires. Our Assignment Is Found At The Intersection Of God's Plan And Our Pleasures.

When We're In The Middle Of A Difficult Time, We Have To Speak Against That Lie That Says, "god Is Not Here." We Have To Draw Near To God.

Difficult Times

What Causes Us To Think Of Prayer As The Last Option Rather Than The First? I Can Think Of Two Reasons: Feelings Of Independence And Feelings Of Insignificance.

A Split Second Is Nothing Compared To Twenty-four Hours. On God's Clock You're In The Middle Of Your Millisecond. Compared To Eternity, What Is Seventy, Eighty, Ninety Years?

I Think There Is, Not In The Sense That I Enjoy It, But That It's An Important Question. It's The Question, "does The Presence Of Pain Mean God Doesn't Care? Does God Not Love Me Anymore?" I Think That's A Very Common Connection We Tend To Make. I See That A Lot In My Own Life And In The Lives Of Others.

No Distance Is Too Far.

Love Like There's No Tomorrow, And If Tomorrow Comes, Love Again.

All Preaching Should Be As Creative As We Can Make It. We've Been Entrusted With Such A Treasure. To Have Anywhere From 50 To 5000 People Who Give Us 30 Minutes Of Their Time To Hear Whatever We Want To Say - I Think They Deserve All The Creativity That We Can Give.

No Person Is Too Hardened.

You Present A Challenge To Satan's Plan. You Carry Something Of God Within You, Something Noble And Holy, Something The World Needs - Wisdom, Kindness, Mercy, Skill. If Satan Can Neutralize You, He Can Mute Your Influence.

Choose Satisfaction Over Salary. Better To Be Happy With Little Than Miserable With Much.

Da Vinci Painted One Mona Lisa. Beethoven Composed One Fifth Symphony. And God Made One Version Of You.

There Is No Religion Like Christianity, It Is Not One Religion Among Others, It Is Completely Different, Its Mixing Apples And Oranges.

I Choose Joy... I Will Invite My God To Be The God Of Circumstance. I Will Refuse The Temptation To Be Cynical... The Tool Of The Lazy Thinker. I Will Refuse To See People As Anything Less Than Human Beings, Created By God. I Will Refuse To See Any Problem As Anything Less Than An Opportunity To See God.

You Are Valuable Because You Exist. Not Because Of What You Do Or What You Have Done - But Simply Because You Are.

God Forgets The Past... Imitate Him.

Forget The Past

It's One Thing For Me To Tell People Not To Worry. It's Another Thing Entirely To Quote Matthew 6, Where Jesus Says, "why Do You Worry? The Birds Of The Air, The Flowers Of The Field..." He Says, "i Tell You, Do Not Worry."

[there Is] A Great Book From Ravi Zacharis, A Scholar From India, And Its Called Jesus Among Other Gods. I Havent Read That One, But I Know Ravi Really Well, And I Know Its A Good Book.

Jesus Tends To His People Individually. He Personally Sees To Our Needs. We All Receive Jesus' Touch. We Experience His Care.

Want To Learn To Forgive? Then Consider How You've Been Forgiven.

Which Would You Prefer? To Be King Of The Mountain For A Day? Or To Be A Child Of God For Eternity?

When Troubles Come Our Way, We Can Be Stressed And Upset, Or We Can Trust God. Caleb Could Have Cursed God. He Didn't Deserve The Wilderness. He Had To Put His Dreams On Hold For Four Decades. Still He Didn't Complain Or Grow Sour.

Give A Man Religion Without Reminding Him Of His Filth, And The Result Will Be Arrogance In A Three- Piece Suit.

It's God's Job To Run The World. Sometimes We Accomplish More By Doing Less.

I Really Enjoy Making People Laugh; I've Discovered That's A Great Technique. That's As Powerful As Stirring Their Sorrow, Stirring Their Compassion, Because That Befriends You To Them. It Engages You With Them And Then You Can Come In; They Will Remember That Point.

I Was Raised In The Greatest Of Homes... Just A Really Great Dad, And I Miss Him So Much... He Was A Good Man, A Real Simple Man... Very Faithful, Always Loved My Mom, Always Provided For The Kids, And Just A Lot Of Fun.

I Don't Have Any Desire To Retire In The Sense Of Not Doing Anything. Because As Long As The Lord Gives Me Strength I Want To Keep Writing And Keep Preaching. I Love What I Do.

Initially, When I First Became A Christian And Got Into Ministry, My Thought Was That God Existed To Make My Life Better And To Take Me To Heaven. Now I Realize That It Is Not About Me At All. It Is All About God And That He Did This To Display His Plan To Restore The Earth To The Garden Of Eden State.

Heaven Knows The Difference Between Sunday Morning And Wednesday Afternoon. God Longs To Speak As Clearly In The Workplace As He Does In The Sanctuary. He Longs To Be Worshiped When We Sit At The Dinner Table And Not Just When We Come To His Communion Table. You May Go Days Without Thinking Of Him, But There's Never A Moment When He's Not Thinking Of You.

Thinking Of You

God Wants No One To Leave Our Presence Empty Handed.

God Can't Fill You When You Are Already Full Of Yourself.

Full Of Yourself

Jesus Will Empty The Tombs And Melt The Winter Of Death.

Were Studying In Philippians, And Im Trying To Figure Out This Passage, Paul Says I Want To Know Christ. What Does That Mean? See, Hes Fascinated By Jesus. I Think Thats A Desire Id Like To Have On My Heart, To Know More About Jesus.

Gods Given Us All Strengths And Gifts.

God Would Rather Give Up His Son..than Give Up On Us

Aging Is God's Idea. It's One Of The Ways He Keeps Us Headed Homeward.

Don't Equate The Presence Of God With A Good Mood Or A Pleasant Temperament. God Is Near Whether You Are Happy Or Not.

Presence Of God

If We Could Solve The Problem Of Who We Are And Where We Are Going, That It Would Have A Huge Impact On The Culture And Waterfall In On Some Of The More Practical And Social Issues.

If Today Were Your Last, Would You Do What You're Doing? Or Would You Love More, Give More, Forgive More? Then Do So! Forgive And Give As If It Were Your Last Opportunity. Love Like There's No Tomorrow, And If Tomorrow Comes, Love Again.

You'll Never Know Jesus Is All You Need Until Jesus Is All You Have. Are You In The Wilderness? Find Refuge In God's Presence. Find Comfort In His People.

I Have A Great Staff At The Church; They Protect Me And Allow Me To Focus On More Of What I Do Best.

You Don't Have Wisdom For Tomorrow's Problems. But You Will Tomorrow. You Don't Have Resources For Tomorrow's Needs. But You Will Tomorrow. You Don't Have Courage For Tomorrow's Challenges. But You Will When Tomorrow Comes.

In Our Faith We Follow In Someone's Steps. In Our Faith We Leave Footprints To Guide Others. It's The Principle Of Discipleship

Do You Understand What God Has Done? He Has Deposited A Christ Seed In You. As It Grows You Will Change. It's Not That Sin Has No More Presence In Your Life, But Rather That Sin Has No More Power Over Your Life.

The Presence Of Fear Does Not Mean You Have No Faith. Fear Visits Everyone. But Make Your Fear A Visitor And Not A Resident.

God's Love Has A Width, Length, Height, And Depth, But We Will Never Reach The End Of It. Our Capacity To Experience God's Love Will Be Exhausted Long Before God's Capacity To Give It Is Strained. The Picture Of Having Christ Dwell Inside Us By Faith Presents Us With Compelling And Comforting Possibilities. What Christ Does In Us And Through Us Will Always Be 'exceedingly Abundantly Above All We Ask Or Think.'

God Has No Cousins, Only Children.

Forgiveness Doesn't Diminish Justice; It Just Entrusts It To God. He Guarantees The Right Retribution.

The Wizard [of Oz] Says Look Inside Yourself And Find Self. God Says Look Inside Yourself And Find [the Holy Spirit]. The First Will Get You To Kansas. The Latter Will Get You To Heaven. Take Your Pick.

Worry Is To Joy What A Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Is To Dirt: Might As Well Attach Your Heart To A Happiness-sucker And Flip The Switch.

God Must've Had A Blast. Painting The Stripes On The Zebra, Hanging The Stars In The Sky, Putting The Gold In The Sunset. What Creativity! Stretching The Neck Of The Giraffe, Putting The Flutter In The Mockingbird's Wings, Planting The Giggle In The Hyena. And Then, As A Finale To A Brilliant Performance, He Made A Human Who Had The Unique Honour To Bear The Stamp, In His Image.

I Would Love To Have A More Earnest Prayer Life! In My Life, Prayer Is The Single Most Difficult Discipline. I Love God And There's Something In Me That Would Rather Do Things For God Than Talk To God. I'm Not By Nature A Mystical, Devotional Person. I Like To Do Things. And So It's A Challenge For Me To Have A Faithful Prayer Life, But I Know God Loves Me And He's Not Mad At Me. He Just Wishes I Would Slow Down And Turn Things Over To Him. And That's What I Think You Achieve Through Prayer.

No One Can Pray And Worry At The Same Time. When We Worry, We Aren't Praying. When We Pray, We Aren't Worrying.

Is It Possible For An Unbaptized Believer To Be Saved? Yes, Definitely. Should Every Believer Be Baptized? Yes, Definitely.

There Was A Time I Wanted To Go Into Politics. And So All Of A Sudden, Here I Am, I Guess. I'm In The Thick Of It.

In The Great Orchestra We Call Life, You Have An Instrument And A Song, And You Owe It To God To Play Them Both Sublimely.

Let's Be The People Who Look At The Hurting Until We Hurt With Them. No Hurrying Past, Turning Away, Or Shifting Of Eyes. No Pretending Or Glossing Over. Let's Look At The Face Until We See The Person.

Bethlehem Was Just The Beginning. I Call Jesus Christ's Next Appearance, Bethlehem, Act 2. No Silent Night This Time, However. The Skies Will Open, Trumpets Will Blast, And A New Kingdom Will Begin.

I Don't Know How To Answer The Problem Of Deep Pain Without A Deep Hope In Eternity.

Prayer Lets God Do What He Does Best. Take A Pebble & Kill A Goliath. Take The Common, Make It Spectacular! Pray & See What He Can Do.

We've Been Taught That The Christian Life Is A Life Of Peace, And When We Don't Have Peace, We Assume The Problem Lies Within Us. Not Only Do We Feel Anxious, But We Also Feel Guilty About Our Anxiety! The Result Is A Downward Spiral Of Worry, Guilt, Worry, Guilt.

I Don't Get Asked A Lot Of Questions About Science And The Bible, For Example. Probably People Just Know I'm Not Very Smart And I Don't Have An Answer To Those Anyway.

We've Got To Realize There's Something Bigger Than Who Is In The White House. And That Is The Spirit Of Camaraderie And Peace That Keeps Our Nation Together.

When God Looks At You, He Doesn’t See You; He Sees The One Who Surrounds You. That Means That Failure Is Not A Concern For You. Your Victory Is Secure.

Are You On The Eve Of Change? Embrace It. Accept It. Don't Resist It. Change Is Not Only A Part Of Life, Change Is A Necessary Part Of God's Strategy. To Use Us To Change The World, He Alters Our Assignments.

The Scripture Says, "this Is The Day The Lord Has Made; Let Us Rejoice And Be Glad In It" [psalm 118:24].glory Days Are Days That Can Happen Right Now. The Key Is Understanding Some Basic Principles That Don't Just Apply To Any One Season Of Life But Transcend All Seasons Of Life - Not Allowing Our Circumstances To Define Our Outlook On Life, But Allowing What God's Word Says About Life To Define That Outlook.

Outlook On Life

No Place Is Too Common.

Never Let The Church Become A Place Where It's Just A Las Vegas Display Place For You To Show Off.

God Is Not Troubled By One Who Is Conservative Or Liberal, And He Certainly Never Inclines His Ear Toward A Donkey Or An Elephant.

Religion Is Intended To Facilitate Hope And Faith. Much Like A Path Is Intended To Facilitate A Journey.

In March 2011 I'm Trying To Decide On A Sermon Series That I Will Preach In January 2012. So, I'm About Six Months Out.

The People Who Make A Difference Are Not The Ones With The Credentials But The Ones With The Concern.

We’re Grateful When All Is Well, But Can We Say The Same On Disastrous Days?

The Only Mistake Is Not To Risk Making One.

Ggrace Is God's Best Idea - It's His Decision To Ravage People By Love, To Rescue Passionately, And To Restore Justly.

You'll Always Face Problems. When You Experience Hard Times, Immerse Your Mind In God Thoughts. Turn A Deaf Ear To Doubters. Set Your Mind On A Holy Cause. Once You Find Your Mountain, No Giant Will Stop You, No Age Will Disqualify You, And No Problem Will Defeat You.

Sometimes When You Read The Bible, You Find Yourself Asking, "how Does This Book Know That About Me? How Does It Know That About Our World - Especially When It Was Written So Long Ago?"

On The Eve Of The Cross, Jesus Made His Decision. He Would Rather Go To Hell For You Than Go To Heaven Without You.

The Strength Of A Story Is That It Stays With People And It Gives An Opportunity For That Story To Connect With People Where The Holy Spirit Intends For It To Do So.

To The Loved, A Word Of Affection Is A Morsel; But To The Love-starved, A Word Of Affection Can Be A Feast.

God Meets Our Needs One Day At A Time.

We Just Need The Government To Be That Greenhouse That Permits Our Faith To Grow.

God Created Marriage. No Government Subcommittee Envisioned It. No Social Organization Developed It. Marriage Was Conceived And Born In The Mind Of God.

A Story Does That: It Will Reach Out And Hook Somebody And Hold Them For Just A Few Moments While You Unpack This Story In Their Presence.

Yesterday You Can't Alter, But Your Reaction To Yesterday You Can. The Past You Cannot Change, But Your Response To Your Past You Can.

The One Who Saved Your Soul Longs To Remake Your Heart. Let's Fix Our Eyes On Jesus. Perhaps In Seeing Him, We Will See What We Can Become!

Jesus Was Not Just Godly, Godlike, God Hungry, God Focused, Or God Worshipping. He Was God. Not Merely A Servant Of God, Instrument Of God, Or Friend Of God, But Jesus Was God.

Nature Is God's First Missionary. Where There Is No Bible There Are Sparkling Stars. Where There Are Not Preachers There Are Spring Times... If A Person Has Nothing But Nature, Then Nature Is Enough To Reveal Something About God.

He Loves Each One Of Us Like There Is Only One Of Us To Love (when God Whisper Your Name)

Prayer Is The Hand Of Faith On The Door Knob Of Your Heart, Inviting Jesus To Enter.

The Apostle Paul Never Seemed To Exhaust The Topic Of Grace - What Makes Us Think We Can? He Just Kept Coming At It And Coming At It From Another Angle. That's The Thing About Grace. It's Like Springtime. You Can't Put It In A Single Sentence Definition, And You Can't Exhaust It.

Your Challenge Is Not Your Challenge. Your Challenge Is The Way You Think About Your Challenge. Your Problem Is Not Your Problem; It Is The Way You Look At It.

The Path Marked Humility Will Take You To The Manger Of The Messiah.

Confession Is The Act Of Inviting God To Walk The Acreage Of Our Hearts. “there Is A Rock Of Greed Over Here, Father. I Can’t Budge It. And That Tree Of Guilt Near The Fence? Its Roots Are Long And Deep. And May I Show You Some Dry Soil, Too Crusty For Seed?” God’s Seed Grows Better If The Soil Of The Heart Is Cleared.

For All Its Peculiarities And Unevenness, The Bible Has A Simple Story. God Made Man. Man Rejected God. God Won't Give Up Until He Wins Him Back. God Will Whisper. He Will Shout. He Will Touch And Tug. He Will Take Away Our Burdens; He'll Even Take Away Our Blessings. If There Are A Thousand Steps Between Us And Him, He Will Take All But One. But He Will Leave The Final One For Us. The Choice Is Ours. Please Understand. His Goal Is Not To Make You Happy. His Goal Is To Make You His. His Goal Is Not To Get You What You Want; It Is To Get You What You Need.

I've Never Disclosed For Whom I'm Voting.

The Key Is This: Meet Today's Problems With Today's Strength. Don't Start Tackling Tomorrow's Problems Until Tomorrow. You Do Not Have Tomorrow's Strength Yet. You Simply Have Enough For Today.

The Next Time You Are Called To Suffer, Pay Attention. It May Be The Closest You'll Ever Get To God.

Compassion Gives Us A Common Ground To Stand On Regardless Of Your Faith Background. It Gives Us A Chance To Stand Shoulder-to-shoulder Rather Than Go Fist-to-fist With Somebody.

If You Concern Yourself With Your Neighbor’s Talents, You’ll Neglect Your Own. But If You Concern Yourself With Yours, You Could Inspire Both!

Demanding Respect Is Like Chasing A Butterfly. Chase It, And You'll Never Catch It. Sit Still, And It May Light On Your Shoulder.

What I May Intend For A Story To Communicate And What A Story Ends Up Communicating Could Be Two Different Things. And It Could Be An Even More Positive Thing.

Baptism Is Bowing Before The Father And Letting Him Do His Work.

The Book, Max On Life, Is Really Kind Of A Second Chance To Answer These Questions.

It's Not About Winning Or Losing, But Love And Respect.

We Have The Freedom To Pray And The Freedom To Love The God Of Our Heart. And We Have Been Forgiven By The Only One Who Could Condemn Us. We Are Truly Free.

God Is God. He Knows What He Is Doing. When You Can’t Trace His Hand, Trust His Heart.

Whether Or Not Storms Come, We Can Not Choose. But Where We Stare During A Storm, That We Can.

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Pedro Almodovar

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