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We Get A Lot Of Unsolicited Manuscripts Here. Im Not Even A Publisher, But We Get Several A Week. I Dont Read Them, But I Do Glance Through Some Of Them, And Some People Dont Need To Be Writing, They Have Something Else.

-Max Lucado

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We Get A Lot

Max Lucado

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We Get A Lot Of Unsolicited Manuscripts Here. Im Not Even A Publisher, But We Get Several A Week. I Dont Read Them, But I Do Glance Through Some Of Them, And Some People Dont Need To Be Writing, They Have Something Else.

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Our Aim - Our Only Aim - Is To Be At Home In Christ. He's Not A Roadside Park Or Hotel Room. He's Our Permanent Mailing Address. Christ Is Our Home. He's Our Place Of Refuge And Security. We're Comfortable In His Presence, Free To Be Our Authentic Selves. We Know Our Way Around In Him. We Know His Heart And His Ways. We Rest In Him, Find Our Nourishment In Him. His Roof Of Grace Protects Us From Storms Of Guilt. His Walls Of Providence Secure Us From Destructive Winds. His Fireplace Warms Us During The Lonely Winters Of Life. We Linger In The Abode Of Christ And Never Leave.

Our Society Is Just Less Open To Platitudes, More Open To Stories.

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

Rather Than Seeking Total Control, Relinquish It. You Can't Run The World, But You Can Entrust It To God. This Is The Message Behind Paul's Admonition To "rejoice In The Lord." Peace Is Within Reach, Not For Lack Of Problems, But Because Of The Presence Of A Sovereign Lord. Rather Than Rehearse The Chaos Of The World, Rejoice In The Lord's Sovereignty, As Paul Did. Sovereignty Gives The Saint The Inside Track To Peace. Others See The Problems Of The World And Wring Their Hands. We See The Problems Of The World And Bend Our Knees.

Want To Snatch A Day From The Manacles Of Boredom? Do Overgenerous Deeds, Acts Beyond Reimbursement. Kindness Without Compensation. Do A Deed For Which You Cannot Be Repaid.

Fredrick Buechner Kind Of Loosened Up My Clerical Collar, You Might Say.

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.

Very, Very Rarely Will I Leave San Antonio To Speak Somewhere Else. I Used To Do That, And It Just About Wore Me Out, So I Quit Traveling.

When You Read The Bible, It's As Though It Reads You.

Fredrick Buechner Kind Of Loosened Me Up, Hes Got A Little Irreverency To Him And I Have A Little Too Much Reverancy.

I Choose Faithfulness...today I Will Keep My Promises. My Debtors Will Not Regret Their Trust. My Associates Will Not Question My Word. My Wife Will Not Question My Love. And My Children Will Never Fear That They Father Will Not Come Home.

What I'm Urging People To Do Is Trust In The Sovereignty Of God.

Sovereignty Of God

I Have Learned That My Assignment Is To Write Books For People Who Do Not Like To Read Books. I Really Try To Connect With People Who Are Not Given To Spending A Lot Of Time With An Open Book. Pay Day To Me Is When Somebody Comes Up To Me And Says, "i Never Read Books But I Read Yours." I Have A Heart For That Person.

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.

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?

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

You Can Endure Change By Pondering His Permanence.

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

God Will Restore His Planet And His Children To Their Garden Of Eden Splendor. It'll Be Perfect. Perfect In Grandeur. Perfect In Righteousness. Perfect In Harmony.

I Choose Kindness... I Will Be Kind To The Poor, For They Are Alone. Kind To The Rich, For They Are Afraid. And Kind To The Unkind, For Such Is How God Has Treated Me

When Grace Happens, We Receive Not A Nice Compliment From God But A New Heart. Give Your Heart To Christ, And He Returns The Favor.

Sentences Are Like Just Caught Fish. Spunky Today, Stinky Tomorrow.

I Just Love Those [saying Of Christ ]: "father Forgive Them, They Know Not What They Do. I Thirst. It Is Finished. Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit. Today You Will Be With Me In Paradise." That Was Really The Heart Of The Second Book I Wrote Called No Wonder They Call Him Savior.

Gratitude Is A Mindful Awareness Of The Benefits Of Life. It's The Greatest Of Virtues. Studies Have Linked The Emotion With A Variety Of Positive Effects. Grateful People Tend To Be More Empathetic And Forgiving Of Others. People Who Keep A Gratitude Journal Are More Likely To Have A Positive Outlook On Life. Grateful Individuals Demonstrate Less Envy, Materialism, And Self-centeredness. Gratitude Improves Self-esteem And Enhances Relationships, Quality Of Sleep, And Longevity.

Lower Your Expectations Of Earth. This Isn't Heaven, So Don't Expect It To Be.

God Did Everything Necessary To Get Herod's Attention. He Sent Messengers From The East And A Message From The Torah. He Sent Wonders From The Sky And Words From Scripture. He Sent The Testimony Of The Heavens And The Teaching Of The Prophets. But Herod Refused To Listen. He Chose His Puny Dynasty Over Christ. He Died A Miserable Old Man.

Examine The Platforms Of Both Parties. Examine The Character Of Both Parties. Get Down On Your Knees. Say, Lord, Help Me Make This Decision. And Then Go Vote.

I Picked Up This Book Called Blue Mountain, Supposed To Be A Really Good Book On The Civil War.

Fear Results In Fight Or Flight. Anxiety Creates Doom And Gloom. Fear Is The Pulse That Pounds When You See A Coiled Rattlesnake In Your Front Yard. Anxiety Is The Voice That Tells You, Never, Ever, For The Rest Of Your Life, Walk Barefooted Through The Grass. There Might Be A Snake...somewhere.

You Will Never Forgive Anyone More Than God Has Already Forgiven You.

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.

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.

I Think I Could Do Better In My Approach To Application. I Think I Could Do Better In Preaching Practical Sermons.

If We Think That This Life Is All There Is To Life, Then There Is No Interpretation Of Our Problems, Our Pain, Not Even Of Our Privileges. But Everything Changes When We Open Up To The Possibility That God's Story Is Really Our Story Too.

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.

I Think It's Noteworthy That The Almighty Didn't Act High And Mighty. The Holy One Wasn't Holier-than-thou. The One Who Knew It All Wasn't A Know-it-all. The One Who Made The Stars Didn't Keep His Head In Them. The One Who Owns All The Stuff Of Earth Never Strutted It.

Meet Your Fears With Faith.

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.

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

My Main Concern Is With The Anxiety That Has Settled Upon America.

Gods Given Us All Strengths And Gifts.

Can You Imagine A Life With No Fear? What If Faith, Not Fear, Was Your Default Reaction To Threats?

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

God Is Recruiting For Himself A People Who Will Populate Heaven.

Does God Know If I Am Ignored Or Rejected? Find The Answer In The Compassionate Eyes Of Christ As He Stands To Defend The Adulterous Woman.

Unmet Expectations Are Tough When It's Your Wife Or Your Husband, But It's Really Tough When It's God. And Yet, It Can Be A Time Of Growth And A Time Of Faith, A Time Of Understanding Who God Is.

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

Faithful Servants Have A Way Of Knowing Answered Prayer When They See It, And A Way Of Not Giving Up When They Don't.

Here's What I Really Love: I Love A Funny Story That I Can Tag A Serious Line On The End Of.

Your Pain Has A Purpose. Your Problems, Struggles, Heartaches, And Hassles Cooperate Toward One End-the Glory Of God.

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.

At Our Church I Do Not Endorse Politicians Publicly. Because I Am Afraid That If I Endorse One Candidate, It Would Keep Somebody From Coming To Our Church. So I Made One Exception One Time To Put One Bumper Sticker On My Car, But I Don't Ever Do It Anymore.

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

I'm Protective Of The Reputation Of Christ And The Church.

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

The Purpose Of The Bible? Salvation. God's Highest Passion Is To Get His Children Home. His Book, The Bible, Describes His Plan Of Salvation. The Purpose Of The Bible Is To Proclaim God's Plan And Passion To Save His Children.

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.

If God Were Only Mighty, We Would Salute Him. But Since He Is Merciful And Mighty, We Can Approach Him.

The Meaning Of Life. The Wasted Years Of Life. The Poor Choices Of Life. God Answers The Mess Of Life With One Word: 'grace.'

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

God Loves You Just The Way You Are, But He Refuses To Leave You That Way.

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

I Would Not Have Said Anything About Mr. Trump, Never - I Would Never Have Said Anything If He Didn't Call Himself A Christian. It'd Be None Of My Business Whatsoever To Make Any Comments About His Language, His Vulgarities, His Slander Of People, But I Was Deeply Troubled ... That Here's A Man Who Holds Up A Bible One Day, And Calls A Lady "bimbo" The Next.

Our God Is Abundant In Love And Steadfast In Mercy. He Saves Us, Not Because We Trust In A Symbol, But Because We Trust In A Savior.

As A Pastor, You Get Asked Questions And Receive Emails. Many Of Them I Had Answered, But Just In Conversation. So We Kind Of Re-crafted The Question And Answered It. It Turned Out To Be An Interesting Exercise. I Hope It's Encouraging For People.

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 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.

Fear Will Always Knock On Your Door. Just Don't Invite It In For Dinner. And For Heaven's Sake, Don't Offer It A Bed For The Night.

I Think The Current Book [for Christian Apologetics] Is By Lee Strobel, Its Called A Case For Christ.

Don't Quit. For If You Do, You May Miss The Answer To Your Prayers.

One Of The Things I Discover A Lot In Marriage Counseling Is The Husband Or Wife Trying To Get Their Spiritual Thirst Quenched By Their Partner; I Think That's A Real Common Mistake That We Make.

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.

Philosophers Can Debate The Meaning Of Life, But You Need A Lord Who Can Declare The Meaning Of Life.

Meaning Of Life

Be Patient. God Is Using Today's Difficulties To Strengthen You For Tomorrow. He Is Equipping You. The God Who Makes Things Grow Will Help You Bear Fruit.

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.

May You Live In Such A Way That Your Death Is Just The Beginning Of Your Life.

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.

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.

Be Careful What You Think, Because Your Thoughts Run Your Life. Do You Want To Be Happy Tomorrow? Then Sow Seeds Of Happiness Today -count Blessings, Memorize Bible Verses, Pray, Sing Hymns, Spend Time With Encouraging People. Do You Want To Guarantee Tomorrow's Misery? Then Wallow In A Mental Mud Pit Of Self-pity Or Guilt Or Anxiety Today Assume The Worst, Beat Yourself Up, Rehearse Your Regrets, Complain To Complainers.

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

Tragically, Some People Believe They Are Going To Heaven When They Die Just Because A Few Drops Of Water Were Sprinkled Over Their Heads A Few Weeks After Their Birth. They Have No Personal Faith, Have Never Made A Personal Decision, And Are Banking On A Hollow Ceremony To Save Them. How Absurd.

I Think The One Thing That I Cannot Do Without Each Day Is Hope. If You Put Me In A Position Where You Took All My Hope Away, I'm Not Sure I Could Make It Through The Day.

Worry Divides The Mind.

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.

God Forgets The Past... Imitate Him.

Forget The Past

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

We're Important, But Not Essential; Valuable, But Not Indispensable. We Have A Part In The Play, But We Are Not The Main Act. A Song To Sing, But We Are Not The Featured Voice. God Is.

Be Gone, Sorrow, Sickness, Wheelchairs, And Cancer! Enough Of You, Screams Of Fear And Nights Of Horror! Death, You Die! Life, You Reign!

For Years I Thought My Assignment Or The Church's Assignment Was To Articulate The Gospel And Nothing More. Now I Believe That If We Don't Support The Verbal Expression Of The Gospel With Physical Demonstration Of Compassion, We Are Not Imitating Jesus.

If God Is Enough For You, Then You'll Always Have Enough, Because You'll Always Have God.

You Change Your Life By Changing Your Heart.

It's Always Better To Step Down From The Pedestal Than To Be Pulled Off Of It.

I'm Right Now Wrapping Up The Sermon Series On Grace. I'd Like To Figure Out What This Next Series Will Be In January. To Do That, I'm Going To Come Up With Four Or Five Really Good Ideas - At Least That I Think Are Really Good Ideas - And If I Don't Sense God Really Highlighting One Of Those, I Will Go To The Elders Of Our Church And My Co-pastors.

We May Forget Him, But God Will Never Forget Us. We're Forever On His Mind And In His Plans.

The Church Is Never A Place To Show Off. Do Your Good Deeds Quietly. Serve; Don't Seek To Be Seen

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

We May Not See The Connection Between The Name Jesus And The Phrase "save His People From Their Sins," But Joseph Would Have. He Was Familiar With The Hebrew Language.

God Saves, Not God Empathizes, Cares, Listens, Helps, Assists, Or Applauds.

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 Psychological Grid Works, Because If You Try To Place Every Personality In One Particular Grid Then You'd Need About 4 Billion Grids Because We Are All So Unique.

We Have A Place Where We Can Take People When They Come To Us With Questions So We're Not Just Speaking Out Of Our Own Opinion. We're Really Speaking To Them Out Of An Authoritative Place, Not Because Of What We Discovered, But Because Of What God Says.

If You're Looking For A Place With No Change, Try A Soda Machine.

Don't You Need A Fountain Of Love That Won't Run Dry? You'll Find One On A Stone-cropped Hill Outside Jerusalem's Walls Where Jesus Hangs, Cross-nailed And Thorn-crowned. When You Feel Unloved, Ascend This Mount. Meditate Long And Hard On Heaven's Love For You.

Scot Mcknight Stirs The Treasures Of Our Lord's Life In An Engaging Fashion. He Did So With The Jesus Creed, And Does So Again With 40 Days Living The Jesus Creed. Make Sure This New Guide For Living Is On Your Shelf.

I Don't Know If I'll Always Be A Pastor.

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

God Loves People Just The Way They Are, But He Loves Them Too Much To Leave Them That Way!

God Meets Our Needs One Day At A Time.

I Work In Theology And Christian Books All Day Long, When Im Studying, So Its Just Kind Of Nice To Pick Up Something Different. The Books That Have Influenced Me, Theres Not Just One Book That Was A Watershed, Although Mere Christianity Was As Much As Any.

Waiting Is A Sustained Effort To Stay Focused On God Through Prayer And Belief.

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.

When I Was A Young Kid, My Dad, A Man Of Few Words, Told My Brother And Me, "boys, Christmas Is About Jesus." I Thought About What He Said, And I Began Asking The Christmas Questions. I've Been Asking Them Ever Since. I Love The Answers I've Found.

One Of The Secrets In Life Is That We Really Lead A Better Life When We're Living For Others Than We Do When We're Living For Ourselves, And I Think That's The Way For Our Creator Intended For It To Be, Is That If We Can Live For Other People, We Really Leave This World In A Different Way.

I Think That I Speak A Lot Like I Write.

Real Courage Embraces The Twin Realities Of Current Difficulty And Ultimate Triumph.

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.

Every Faith Has Its Story; Every Faith Has Its Roots.

I Do Think There Is Great Strength, Though, In Starting A Sermon With A Story, Then Returning To That Story At The End. That Puts Book Ends To A Sermon. It Is A Real Simple Technique That Communicates To The Audience That There Is A Sense Of Closure, That They Have A Package Here, Or We Began And We Closed With This. I Think That's Just A Nice Technique.

When God Is All You Have, Then All You Have, Is All You Need.

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.

Though We May Not Be Able To See His Purpose Or His Plan, The Lord Of Heaven Is On His Throne And In Firm Control Of The Universe And Our Lives.

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

Vengeance Fixes Your Attention On Life's Ugliest Moments. Is This Where You Want To Look? Remember: God Dispenses Perfect Justice.

To Me That's Always A Little Satisfying - To Find An Underdeveloped Topic And Start Developing It.

Don't Worry About Having The Right Words; Worry More About Having The Right Heart. It's Not Eloquence He Seeks, Just Honesty.

God's Love Supply Is Never Empty.

It's Nothing Mystical, Necessarily. It's Nothing Secretive. It's Just What We Do With Our Body We Do With Our Soul.

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

I Think The Hardest One Had To Do With Suffering. It Had To Do With All Of Our Church Members And Friends Passing Through Difficult Times. Sometimes It's The Global Climate: Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Radiation. I Think These Kinds Of Questions Are Absolutely The Most Difficult, Yet We Need To Be Ready To Respond To Them Because We Have To Be Able As Pastors To Walk People Through These Valleys, These Tough Times In Their Lives.

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.

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

God Rewards Those Who Seek Him. Not Those Who Seek Doctrine Of Religion Or Systems Or Creeds. Many Settle For These Lesser Passions, But The Reward Goes To Those Who Settle For Nothing Less Than Jesus Himself. And What Is The Reward? What Awaits Those Who Seek Jesus? Nothing Short Of The Heart Of Jesus.

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

Engage With The Bible. Meditate On It Day And Night. Think And Rethink About God's Word. Let It Be Your Guide. Make It Your Go-to Book For Questions. Let It Be The Ultimate Authority In Your Life.

God's Delight Is Received Upon Surrender, Not Awarded Upon Conquest.

I've Never Been One To Say I Know Exactly That We're In The Last Days, But There's Some Things Happening These Days, Both Good And Bad, That Make Me Wonder If We May Be Heading Into The Final Generation. One Of The Good Things That's Happening Is That Little By Little We're Taking The Gospel To The Whole World. But At The Same Time There Is This Resistance.

The Same Hand That Stilled The Seas Stills Your Guilt. The Same Hand That Cleansed The Temple Cleanses Your Heart. The Hand Is The Hand Of God. The Nail Is The Nail Of God. And As The Hands Of Jesus Opened For The Nail, The Doors Of Heaven Opened For You.

About Four Days A Week, I Do Pretty Good At Having A Morning Prayer Time. But Even At That, It's A Rambling Sort Of Thing. What I Have Learned To Do Better Is To Try To Keep My Mind Turned Toward God And Ear Inclined Toward God Throughout The Day, And I Think I'm Doing Better At That ,but I've Got A Long Way To Go.

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

So Immediately I'm Trying To Think: What Are Some Of These Times When We Feel We're Losing Our Hold On Christ, And What's The Fear We're Trying To Address? I Try To Get Into That Quickly.

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.

No One Can Pray And Worry At The Same Time.

[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.

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.

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!

God Offers Authentic Love. His Devotion Is The Real Deal. But He Won't Give You The Genuine Until You Surrender The Imitations.

God Loves Us Too Much To Indulge Our Every Whim.

To See Sin Without Grace Is Despair. To See Grace Without Sin Is Arrogance. To See Them In Tandem Is Conversion.

God Loves You Because He Has Chosen To Do So.

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.

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.

I Think What Happens Is That We're So Busy As Pastors That We Never Get Around To Trying To Turn That Material Into A Book. It's A Shame Because There Is So Much Good Material Out There That Needs To Be Published.

God Has A Timeline. And Because Of Bethlehem, We Have An Idea Where We Stand On It.

You Have A God Who Hears You, The Power Of Love Behind You, The Holy Spirit Within You, And All Of Heaven Ahead Of You. If You Have The Shepherd, You Have Grace For Every Sin, Direction For Every Turn, A Candle For Every Corner And An Anchor For Every Storm. You Have Everything You Need.

God's Greatest Blessings Often Come Costumed As Disasters. Any Doubters Need To Do Nothing More Than Ascend The Hill Of Calvary.

The Manger Dares Us To Believe The Best Is Yet To Be. And It Could All Begin Today.

What Christ Does In Us And Through Us Will Always Be 'exceedingly Abundantly Above All We Ask Or Think.'

Your Serenity Matters To Heaven. God's Presence Encapsulates Your Life.

I Don't Feel Like I Have A Lot To Offer In Terms Of An Authoritative Voice On A Lot Of Political Issue. I Don't Know How To Fix The Economy, Or How To Increase The Number Of Jobs. That Is Not Where I Spent My Life And Thought And Meditation. I Guess I Would Like To Think That The Topics That I Am Discussing - The Gospel, The Forgiveness Of Sins And The Defeat Of Death - Goes Up River To All Problem.

Sow Seeds Of Hope And Enjoy Optimism. Sow Seeds Of Doubt And Expect Insecurity

I've Found Great Virtue In Two-thirds Of The Way Into The Message; Right Before I'm Really Want To Nail Home A Point, Pausing To Tell A Joke Or To Tell A Light-hearted Story, Because I Know My Audience Has Been Working With Me Now For 20 Or 25 Minutes. And If I Can Get Them To Laugh, Get Oxygen Into Their System, It Wakes Up Those Who Might Be Sleeping, So There's Something About Using A Story To Draw People Back In Right Before You Drive Home Your Final Point. In That Case I Think It's Real Legitimate Just To Use A Story For Story's Sake.

To Live As God's Child Is To Know That You Are Loved By Your Maker Not Because You Try To Please Him And Succeed, Or Fail To Please Him And Apologize, But Because He Wants To Be Your Father. Nothing More.

The Purpose Of The Bible Is Simply To Proclaim God's Plan To Save His Children. It Asserts That Man Is Lost And Needs To Be Saved. And It Communicates The Message That Jesus Is The God In The Flesh Sent To Save His Children.

I Try To Help People See They're Going To Have These Times In Which They Turn Away, In Which They Deny Christ And Their Faith Grows Cold, Their Convictions Weakened; But Jesus Is Waiting.

Jesus Spoke To Those Who Had Turned Their Backs On History. He Spoke To Those Who Had Blatantly Ignored Sign After Sign, Servant After Servant.

No Distance Is Too Far.

My Concern Is That Somebody Would Make A Decision Against Christianity Because Of Mr. Trump's Behavior.

It's Such A Unique Story. Book Of Joshua In The Bible Wasn't Always My Favorite Book, By The Way. Only Some Ago Did I Realize That This Book Covers A Seven-year Period In The History Of Ancient Israel In Which They Literally Went Undefeated.they Did Have One Setback, But Outside Of That, They Defeated Over 30 Kings. They Recaptured The Promised Land. They Did What Their Ancestors Said They Could Not.

You Weren't An Accident. You Weren't Mass Produced. You Aren't An Assembly-line Product. You Were Deliberately Planned, Specifically Gifted, And Lovingly Positioned On The Earth By The Master Craftsman.

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

Who Are They To Give Stars Or Dots? They're Wemmicks Just Like You." Eli To Punchinello (p. 25)

I Think You Could Say Every Pastor Is Writing This Book, Max On Life; For Many It Just Never Gets Published. All I Did Was Collect A Few Of The Questions I've Been Asked Through The Years, Write Up A Brief Response And Put Them In This Publication.

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

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

The Peace Of God, Which Surpasses All Understanding, Will Guard Your Hearts And Minds Through Christ Jesus . As We Do Our Part Rejoice In The Lord, Pursue A Gentle Spirit, Pray About Everything, And Cling To Gratitude, God Does His Part. He Bestows Upon Us The Peace Of God. Note, This Is Not A Peace From God. Our Father Gives Us The Very Peace Of God. He Downloads The Tranquility Of The Throne Room Into Our World, Resulting In An Inexplicable Calm. We Should Be Worried, But We Aren't. We Should Be Upset, But We're Comforted.

If You Knew Jesus Was Coming Tomorrow, What Would You Do Today? Then Do It!

Seek First The Kingdom Of Wealth And You'll Worry Over Every Dollar. Seek First The Kingdom Of Health And You'll Sweat Every Blemish And Bump. Seek First The Kingdom Of Popularity, And You'll Relive Every Conflict. Seek First The Kingdom Of Safety, And You'll Jump At Every Crack Of The Twig. But Seek First His Kingdom And You Will Find It. On That, We Can Depend And Never Worry.

I Think Theres Just This Mystique Of Writing A Book That Appeals To People. A Person Has To Really Check Their Motives And Say, Am I Really Being Called By God To Do This? Or Is This Just Something That Would Look Neat In My Funeral? I Dont Mean To Be Harsh But I Think A Person Really Needs To, So They Wont Be Disappointed.

Do You Purchase The First Tree You See? Of Course Not. You Search For The Right One. You Walk The Rows. You Lift Several Up And Set Them Down. You Examine Them From All Angles Until You Decide, This One Is Perfect. You Have A Place In Mind Where The Tree Will Sit. Not Just Any Tree Will Do. God Does The Same.

He Saw You In Your Own Gethsemane And He Didn't Want You To Be Alone..he Would Rather Go To Hell For You Than To Haven Without You.

What Is This Love That Endures Decades, Passes On Sleep, And Resists Death To Give One Kiss? Call It Agape Love, A Love That Bears A Semblance Of God's.

I Think A Story Is An Attention Grabber. I Think It's A Truth Conveyor. Those Are Two Great Features Of A Good Story.

There Is A Time For Risky Love. There Is A Time For Extravagant Gestures. There Is A Time To Pour Out Your Affections On One You Love. And When The Time Comes - Seize It, Don't Miss It.

The Life Of Jesus Christ Is A Message Of Hope, A Message Of Mercy, A Message Of Life In A Dark World.

The Bible Urges Us To Be Respectful To All People, Especially People With Whom We Have Disagreements, To Never Libel People, To Never Label People.

What You Do For A Tree, God Does For You.

Creativity Has Got To Be The Warp And Woof, The Heart And Soul, Of Our Sermons.

Others Have Promised And Failed. But God Has Promised And Succeeded. He Loves You With An Unfailing Love.

Gratitude. More Aware Of What You Have Than What You Don't. Recognizing The Treasure In The Simple - A Child's Hug, Fertile Soil, A Golden Sunset. Relishing In The Comfort Of The Common.

The Moment Mary Touched God's Face Is The Moment God Made His Case: There's No Place He Will Not Go.

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.

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

Relationships Don't Thrive Because The Guilty Are Punished But Because The Innocent Are Merciful.

All Of My Sermons Become Books. I've Been Accused Of Having No Unpublished Thought. I Encourage Pastors To Do That. I Think There Are So Many Great Sermons That Never Really Get Circulation.

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.

Peace Happens When People Pray. "cast All Your Anxiety On Him Because He Cares For You" Casting Is An Intentional Act To Relocate An Object. Let This "throwing" Be Your First Response To Bad News. As You Sense Anxiety Welling Up Inside You, Cast It In The Direction Of Christ. Do So Specifically And Immediately. Find A Promise Of God That Fits Your Problem, And Build Your Prayer Around It. These Prayers Of Faith Touch The Heart Of God And Activate The Angels Of Heaven. Miracles Are Set Into Motion. Your Answer May Not Come Overnight, But It Will Come. And You Will Overcome.

When God Gives An Assignment, He Also Gives The Skill. Study Your Skills, Then, To Reveal Your Assignment.

Waiting Is An Expectant Patience. It's A Patience That Says, "i Don't Know What God Is Going To Do, But I Know God Is Going To Do Something."

Praise Is The Highest Occupation Of Any Being

No Person Is Too Hardened.

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John D. Rockefeller

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