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When You Teach On A Familiar Text, You're Capitalizing On Common Knowledge. When You Teach On An Unfamiliar Text, You're Having To Build A Bridge Of Understanding, And We Need To Do That As Well.

-Max Lucado

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When You Teach On

Max Lucado

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When You Teach On A Familiar Text, You're Capitalizing On Common Knowledge. When You Teach On An Unfamiliar Text, You're Having To Build A Bridge Of Understanding, And We Need To Do That As Well.

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

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

If I Succeed, I Will Give Thanks. If I Fail, I Will Seek His Grace.

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

I Don't Think God Is A Gender. He Presents Himself As A Father But He Comes To Us With The Tenderness Of A Mother. In Some Of The Parables, He Is The Housewife Who Cleans The House Looking For The Lost Coin.

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

God Wants The World To See What God Can Do With His Purchased Possessions. So He Prunes You.

Bitterness Is The Trap That Snares The Hunter

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.

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.

No One Can Teach Your Child Like You Can. No Nanny, Bible School Teacher, Aunt, Or Uncle Has Your Authority. What A Phenomenal Privilege Is Yours.

Thats Usually What I Gravitate To, I Read The Perfect Storm, Then I Read Into Thin Air .

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

Jesus Gives Us Hope Because He Keeps Us Company, Has A Vision And Knows The Way We Should Go.

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

If You Knew Jesus Was Returning Tomorrow, How Would You Feel Today? Anxious, Afraid, Unprepared? If So, You Can Take Care Of Your Fears By Placing Your Trust In Christ. If Your Answer Includes Words Like Happy, Relieved, And Excited, Hold Tightly To Your Joy.

Forgiveness Is Choosing To See Your Offender With Different Eyes.

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.

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.

One Of The Greatest Gifts We Can Give People Is The Hope That Their Death Is Nothing To Fear - You Know, Not That It Has No Fear In It, But The Promise Of Scripture Is That God Will Lead Us Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death.

Shadow Of Death

God Will Use Whatever He Wants To Display His Glory. Heavens And Stars. History And Nations. People And Problems.

Jesus Said, "my Father Is The Gardener...he Trims And Cleans Every Branch That Produces Fruit So That It Will Produce Even More Fruit".

Jesus Will Press His Thumb Against The Cheek Of Humanity And Wipe Away All Tears.

Michael Jordan Once Said That The Most Peaceful Moments Of His Life Were On A Basketball Court, Because That's The Only Place He Knew Exactly What To Do. And To Me The Most Peaceful Moments In My Ministry Are In The Pulpit Because That's When I Really Know What I'm Going To Do.

I Think We Have Such A Crown Jewel In The Forgiveness Of God, And It Changes People's Lives.

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.

Jesus Is Not "out Of Touch With Our Reality. He's Been Through Weakness And Testing, Experienced It All - All But The Sin. So Let's Walk Right Up To Him And Get What He Is So Ready To Give. Take The Mercy, Accept The Help" (heb. 4:15 - 16 Msg).

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

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

I Try To Help People See That God Uses Pain, That Pain Is One Of The Ways God Shapes Us Into The Kind Of Beings He Wants Us To Be For Eternity.

God Loves Us Too Much To Indulge Our Every Whim.

The Influence Of The Church Does Not Depend On The Church, It Depends On The Holy Spirit. And The Holy Spirit Will Never Lose Its Influence. He Is God And He Is Influencing Society.

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

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

I Choose Goodness... I Will Go Without A Dollar Before I Take A Dishonest One. I Will Be Overlooked Before I Will Boast. I Will Confess Before I Will Accuse. I Choose Goodness.

Who Was Jesus? God Saves.

I Really Believe The Purpose Of Scripture Is To Give Us This Authoritative Handbook.

One Phrase Summarizes The Horror Of Hell. "god Isn't There."

You Know People Just Assume, 'well, All My Life I'll Be A Worrier.' That Doesn't Have To Be True. There's A Way To Drink From God's Presence So Much That Worry Begins To Dissipate.

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.

Be A Child Again. Flirt. Giggle. Dip Your Cookies In Your Milk. Take A Nap. Say You're Sorry If You Hurt Someone. Chase A Butterfly. Be A Child Again.

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

Answer The Big Question Of Eternity, And The Little Questions Of Life Fall Into Perspective.

God Is Not A Miser With His Grace. Your Cup May Be Low In Cash Or Clout, But It Is Overflowing With Mercy.

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.

There Is No Way Our Little Minds Can Comprehend The Love Of God. But That Didn't Keep Him From Coming.

[ Christianity], In And Of Itself, Sets Itself Apart Inherently, And So, For Somebody To Say, Well It Just Seems To Me Like You Can Pick Between All These Religions And Still Have The Same Thing. Its Kind Of Like Somebody Saying, You Could Pick Between 80 Bananas And One Apple And Say You Have A Banana. You Cant Call That Apple A Banana.

If Today Were Your Last, Would You Do What You're Doing? Or Would You Love More, Give More, Forgive More?

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.

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.

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.

Though You See Nothing, He Is Acting.

How We Handle Our Tough Times Stays With Us For A Long Time.

Theres A Verse Thats Meant A Lot To Me Ever Since I Was In My Early 20s. 2 Timothy 2:8, Paul Told Timothy To Remember Jesus Christ, Descended From David And Raised From The Dead. Thats A Good Principle, That If My Theology, My Whole Life Can Be Focused On Remembering Jesus. Just Trying To Remember Who He Is, What He Did, Being Strong In What He Did And What He Accomplished.

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

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

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?

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

To Have A Pure Heart, We Must Submit All Thoughts To The Authority Of Christ. If We Are Willing To Do That, He Will Change Us To Be Like Him.

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.

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.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, And Self-control. To These I Commit My Day. If I Succeed, I Will Give Thanks. If I Fail, I Will Seek His Grace. And Then, When This Day Is Done, I Will Place My Head On My Pillow And Rest.

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.

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.

If The Purpose Of Life Is Just To Live This Life And Then Die, It's Hard To Answer The Purpose Of Pain Question; But If We Can Help People See From An Eternal Perspective - That All Of This Is Working Together To Prepare Us For Something Higher Than We've Ever Imagined, More Noble Than We've Ever Dreamed - Then We Discover Some Hope That We Can Hold On To.

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.

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.

A Few Songs With Him Might Change The Way You Sing. Forever.

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

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."

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.

My Thinking Is That Miracles Exist To Reveal God, But Miracles Don't Exist For God To Do Me Any Favors.

Feed Your Fears And Your Faith Will Starve. Feed Your Faith, And Your Fears Will.

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

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.

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

The Wonder Of A Free-market Society Is That We Can All Do Our Best To Package Our Message In An Entertaining Fashion And Present It - And Then Everybody Votes With Their Footsteps.

The Great Promise Of Scripture Is That Every Day Is A Day That's Worth Rejoicing In.

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.

I Simply Think God Is Greater Than Our Weakness. In Fact, I Think It Is Our Weakness That Reveals How Great God Is.

All Of My Books Began As Sermons, So Really The Heart Of The Message Is Still The Same.

To Accept Grace Is To Admit Failure, A Step We Are Hesitant To Take. We Opt To Impress God With How Good We Are Rather Than Confessing How Great He Is.

I Think You Have To Be Very Careful About Any Story That Puffs You Up.

I Was Praying About What I Needed To Teach. I Felt It Wasn't Time To Move Out Of The Theme Of Romans, Which Is Salvation By Grace Through Faith.

Faith Is Not The Belief That God Will Do What You Want. It Is The Belief That God Will Do What Is Right.

There Is Not A Hint Of One Person Who Was Afraid To Draw Near Him [jesus]. There Were Those Who Mocked Him. There Were Those Who Were Envious Of Him. There Were Those Who Misunderstood Him. There Were Those Who Revered Him. But There Was Not One Person Who Considered Him Too Holy, Too Divine, Or Too Celestial To Touch. There Was Not One Person Who Was Reluctant To Approach Him For Fear Of Being Rejected.

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.

God's Goal Is Not To Get What You Want; It Is To Get You What You Need.

Prayer Pushes Us Through Life's Slumps, Propels Us Over The Humps And Pulls Us Out Of The Dumps. Prayer Is The Oomph We Need To Get The Answers We Seek.

Look At The Bethlehem Birth. A King Ordered A Census. Joseph Was Forced To Travel. Mary, As Round As A Ladybug, Bounced On A Donkey's Back. The Hotel Was Full. The Hour Was Late. The Event Was One Big Hassle. Yet, Out Of The Hassle, Hope Was Born. It Still Is.

Our Kids Were God's Kids First... We Tend To Forget This Fact, Regarding Our Children As "our" Children, As Though We Have The Final Say In Their Health And Welfare. We Don't. All People Are God's People, Including The Small People Who Sit At Our Tables.

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.

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

In A Sense We're All Children Of God - Jesus Is Called The One And Only Son. Monogeneo Is The Word, God's Only "genetic" Child. He Bears The Very Essence Of God. What We Say About God We Say About Jesus. So The Promise Rises And Falls On The Identity Of Jesus.

You Are Who God Says You Are. Spiritually Alive. Heavenly Positioned. Connected To The Father. A Billboard Of Mercy. An Honored Child.

Each One Of Us Should Lead A Life Stirring Enough To Start A Movement.

God Knows What It's Like To Be A Human. When I Talk To Him About Deadlines Or Long Lines Or Tough Times, He Understands. He's Been There. He's Been Here.

Refusing To Forgive Is Like Ingesting A Lethal Dose Of Poison And Hoping It Kills My Enemy.

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

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.

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.

No Distance Is Too Far.

Forgiveness Is Not Saying That The One Who Hurt You Was Right. Forgiveness Is Stating That God Is Faithful And He Will Do What Is Right.

Off To One Side Sits A Group Of Shepherds. They Sit Silently On The Floor, Perhaps Perplexed, Perhaps In Awe, No Doubt In Amazement. Their Night Watch Had Been Interrupted By An Explosion Of Light From Heaven And A Symphony Of Angels. God Goes To Those Who Have Time To Hear Him-and So On This Cloudless Night He Went To Simple Shepherds.

I Do Not Know When Christ Is Coming Back. No One Knows. But I Do Think The Environment Is Getting More And More To The Point Where We Can Look For His Return.

When You Teach On A Familiar Text, You're Capitalizing On Common Knowledge. When You Teach On An Unfamiliar Text, You're Having To Build A Bridge Of Understanding, And We Need To Do That As Well.

You Are Saved, Not Because Of What You Do, But Because Of What Christ Did. And You Are Special, Not Because Of What You Do, But Because Of Whose You Are. And You Are His. And Because We Are His, Let's Forget The Shortcuts And Stay On The Main Road. He Knows The Way. He Drew The Map. He Knows The Way Home.

What Did Jesus Come To Do? God Saves.

God Would Prefer We Have An Occasional Limp Than A Perpetual Strut.

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.

Your Home Is Your Giant-size Privilege, Your Towering Priority.

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

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 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

The Next Time You Find Yourself Alone In A Dark Alley Facing The Undeniables Of Life, Don't Cover Them With A Blanket, Or Ignore Them With A Nervous Grin. Don't Turn Up The Tv And Pretend They Aren't There. Instead, Stand Still, Whisper His Name, And Listen. He Is Nearer Than You Think.

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

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

Let Your Failures Refine You, Not Define You.

God Loves You Simply Because He Has Chosen To Do So. He Loves You When You Don't Feel Lovely. He Loves You When No One Else Loves You. Others May Abandon You, Divorce You, And Ignore You, But God Will Love You Always. No Matter What!

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

When A Christian Stops Growing, Help Is Needed. If You Are The Same Christian You Were A Few Months Ago, Be Careful.

A Little Rain Can Straighten A Flower Stem. A Little Love Can Change A Life.

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

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.

Meet Your Fears With Faith.

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.

That's What I'm Hoping We Can All Do, Is Come Together In A Spirit Of Prayer.

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

God Is Able To Accomplish, Provide, Help, Save, Keep, Subdue... He Is Able To Do What You Can't. He Already Has A Plan. God's Not Bewildered. Go To Him.

I Think There Is Something About A Story That Is Enduring. Stories Take On A Life Of Their Own.

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

No Matter Who Wins, God Is Still Sovereign Regardless If My Preferred Candidate Wins Or Not.

No Person [should] Walk Out Into The World To Begin The Day Until He Or She Has Stood Beneath The Cross To Receive God’s Love.

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.

It Deeply Concerns Me That Somebody Who Knows Little Or Nothing About The Christian Faith Would Hear Mr. Trump Call Himself A Christian And Then Make A Decision Based On The Christian Faith, Based On His Behavior.

Seek Beauty And Miss Love. But Seek Love And Find Both.

When Words Are Most Empty, Tears Are Most Apt.

If There Are A Thousand Steps Between Us And God, He Will Take All But One. He Will Leave The Final One For Us. The Choice Is Ours.

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

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

When No One Is Watching, Live As If Someone Is.

Discover This Mystery: As You Help Others Face Their Days, You Put Life Into Your Own. And Life Is Exactly What Many People Need.

The Presence Of Anxiety Is Unavoidable, But The Prison Of Anxiety Is Optional. Anxiety Is Not A Sin; It's An Emotion. So Don't Be Anxious About Feeling Anxious. Anxiety Can, However, Lead To Sinful Behavior. When We Numb Our Fears With Six-packs Or Food Binges, When We Spew Anger Like Krakatau, When We Peddle Our Fears To Anyone Who Will Buy Them, We're Sinning.

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."

We Might Question God's Actions, Decisions, Or Declarations. But We Can Never, Ever Question His Zany, Stunning, Unquenchable Affection.

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.

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

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.

Trust God's Love. His Perfect Love. Don't Fear He Will Discover Your Past. He Already Has. Don't Fear Disappointing Him In The Future. He Can Show You The Chapter In Which You Will. With Perfect Knowledge Of The Past And Perfect Vision Of The Future, He Loves You Perfectly In Spite Of Both.

Visions Of The Future

My Parents, They Were Good, Godly People, But They Never Said, You Need To Write.

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.

We Will Find Grace To Help Us When We Need It

Hiding Out With The Enemy Brings Only Temporary Relief.

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.

Anger Is The Noise Of The Soul; The Unseen Irritant Of The Heart; The Relentless Invader Of Silence.

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

God Never Promises To Remove Us From Our Struggles. He Does Promise, However, To Change The Way We Look At Them.

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

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.

You Are God's Child. His Creation. Destined For Heaven. You Are A Part Of His Family.

The Difference Between Mercy And Grace? Mercy Gave The Prodigal Son A Second Chance. Grace Gave Him A Feast.

You May Go Days Without Thinking Of God, But There's Never A Moment When He's Not Thinking Of You.

Thinking Of You

Here's What You Need To Keep In Mind. You No Longer Have Yesterday. You Do Not Yet Have Tomorrow. You Have Only Today. This Is The Day The Lord Has Made. Live In It.

Give Your Problems To Christ Before Your Problems Get To You.

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.

There's A Great Place For Good Christian Children's Books. After The Upcoming Projects I'm Working On, I'd Like To Turn My Attention Back To Children's Books. Maybe With A Granddaughter I'll Have More Inspiration And New Ideas.

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

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'd Like To Think I'm Going Upriver In Talking About World-view Topics Rather Than Particular Political Or Controversial Topics.

Controversial Topics

Compassion In Evangelical Churches Is Out Of Balance. When I Talk About It, I Get A Lot Of Glazed Expressions.

I Never Told Anybody I Wanted To Write, I Kind Of Fell Into It Backwards.

Kind Of The Bottom Line For Me, I Don't Think People Come To The Church Where I Preach To Hear My View On Politics.

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.

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.

Children Spell Love With Four Letters: T-i-m-e.

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.

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.

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.

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

The Bible Teaches Us That God Does Not Cause Pain, But That He Uses Pain And Evil To Advance His Cause And Shape His Servants.

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.

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.

Have You Been Called To Go Out On A Limb For God? You Can Bet It Won't Be Easy. Limb-climbing Has Never Been Easy. Ask Joseph. Or, Better Yet, Ask Jesus. He Knows Better Than Anyone The Cost Of Hanging On A Tree.

God Does Uncommon Things Through Common People In Common Places.

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.

Are You Weary? Catch Your Breath. Are You Strong? Reserve Passing Judgment On The Tired.

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.

We Serve A Good God Who Oversees The Affairs Of Mankind.

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.

We (christians) Are Always In The Presence Of God. There Is Never A Non-sacred Moment! His Presence Never Diminishes. Our Awareness Of His Presence May Falter, But The Reality Of His Presence Never Changes.

Filter Your Pain Through The Brevity Of This Life And The Unending Beauty Of The Next.

I Think We Live In Slavery To Fear. Most People Don't Have An Answer To The Death Question And Really Don't Even Have A Philosophy. That Is A Puzzle To Me. I Think Even If I Was Not A Christian, I Would Want To At Least Have A Personal Solution To The Death Question. Otherwise, Death Is Just A Frightening Thing.

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.

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!

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

Two Types Of Voices Command Your Attention Today. Negative Ones Fill Your Mind With Doubt, Bitterness, And Fear. Positive Ones Purvey Hope And Strength. Which One Will You Choose To Heed?

God Has High Plans For You And Me.

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'?

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.

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