Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.
You are the only you God made... God made you and broke the mold.
A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.
Forgive and give as if it were your last opportunity. Love like there's no tomorrow, and if tomorrow comes, love again.
Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realising you were the prisoner !
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 ?
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 loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.
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 !
To lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back on the crowd.
Lower your expectations of earth. This isn't Heaven, so don't expect it to be.
He saw you cast into a river of life you didn't request. He saw you betrayed by those you love. He saw you with a body that gets sick and a heart that grows weak. He saw you in your own garden of gnarled trees and sleeping friends. He saw you staring into the pit of your own failures and the mouth of your own grave. He saw you in your own garden of Gethsemane and he didn't want you to be alone ... He would rather go to hell for you than to heaven without you.
When my daughter was a toddler, I used to take her to a park not far from our apartment. One day as she was playing in a sandbox, an ice-cream salesman approached us. I purchased her a treat, and when I turned to give it to her, I saw her mouth was full of sand. Where I had intended to put a delicacy, she had put dirt.
Did I love her with dirt in her mouth? Absolutely. Was she any less of my daughter with dirt in her mouth? Of course not. Was I going to allow her to keep the dirt in her mouth? No way. I loved her right where she was, but I refused to leave her there. I carried her over to the water fountain and washed out her mouth. Why? Because I love her.
God does the same for us. He holds us over the fountain. "Spit out the dirt, honey," our Father urges. "I've got something better for you." And so he cleanses us of filth; immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness, greed. We don't enjoy the cleansing; sometimes we even opt for the dirt over the ice cream. "I can eat dirt if I want to!" we pout and proclaim. Which is true—we can. But if we do, the loss is ours. God has a better offer.
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.
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.
What you and I might rate as an absolute disaster, God may rate as a pimple-level problem that will pass. He views your life the way you view a movie after you've read the book. When something bad happens, you feel the air sucked out of the theater. Everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. Not you. Why? You've read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot. God views your life with the same confidence. He's not only read your story...he wrote it.
Remember, you are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes.
Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.
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.
Even though you may not understand how God works, you know he does.
The past does not have to be your prison. You have a voice in your destiny. You have a say in your life. You have a choice in the path you take.
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.
To the loved, a word of affection is a morsel; but to the love-starved, a word of affection can be a feast.
Let God have you, and let God love you - and don’t be surprised if your heart begins to hear music you’ve never heard and your feet learn to dance as never before.
Can you imagine a life with no fear? What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats.
Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves.
It's not about winning or losing, but love and respect.
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.
A few songs with Him might change the way you sing. Forever.
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.
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.
Don't measure the size of the mountain; talk to the One who can move it..
How can a person deal with anxiety? You might try what one fellow did. He worried so much that he decided to hire someone to do his worrying for him. He found a man who agreed to be his hired worrier for a salary of $200,000 per year. After the man accepted the job, his first question to his boss was, "Where are you going to get $200,000 per year?" To which the man responded, "That's your worry.
There is no way our little minds can comprehend the love of God. But that didn't keep him from coming.
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.
God is God. He knows what he is doing. When you can’t trace his hand, trust his heart.
Greed is not defined by what something costs; it is measured by what it costs you. If anything costs you your faith or your family, the price is too high. Such is the point Jesus makes in the parable of the portfolio.
We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.
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.
Though you see nothing, he is acting.
When grace moves in... guilt moves out.
The people who make a difference are not the ones with the credentials but the ones with the concern.
The Bible is the story of two gardens: Eden and Gethsemane. In the first, Adam took a fall. In the second, Jesus took a stand. In the first, God sought Adam. In the second, Jesus sought God. In Eden, Adam hid from God. In Gethsemane, Jesus emerged from the tomb. In Eden, Satan led Adam to a tree that led to his death. From Gethsemane, Jesus went to a tree that led to our life.
We see a hearse; we think sorrow. We see a grave; we think despair. We hear of a death; we think of a loss. Not so in heaven. When heaven sees a breathless body, it sees the vacated cocoon & the liberated butterfly.
CAN is 100 times more important than IQ.
No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.
Worry divides the mind.
You need someone to lift your spirits. You need someone to look you in the face and say, "This isn't the end. Don't give up. There is a better place than this. And I'll lead you there.
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.
God wants us to know we are saved, for saved people are dangerous people, willing to face off with the world, unafraid of the consequences since they know that, whatever happens, they will have eternal life.
People are watching the way we act, more than they are listening to what we say.
When he says we’re forgiven, let’s unload the guilt. When he says we’re valuable, let’s believe him. . . . When he says we’re provided for, let’s stop worrying. God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless.
God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors and blemishes. But He also sees our value.
God leads us. God will do the right thing at the right time. And what a difference that makes.
Philosophers can debate the meaning of life, but you need a Lord who can declare the meaning of life.
Jesus tends to his people individually. He personally sees to our needs. We all receive Jesus' touch. We experience his care.
May you live in such a way that your death is just the beginning of your life.
You will be at your best forever, Even now you have good moments. Occasional glimpses of your heavenly self. When you change your baby's diaper, forgive your boss's temper, tolerate your spouse's moodiness, you display traces of saintliness.
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.
Woman, where are they ? Has no one judged you guilty ?"
She answers "No one, sir."
Then Jesus says, "I also don't judge you guilty. You may go now, but don't sin anymore."
If you have ever wondered how God reacts when you fail, frame these words and hang them on the wall.Read them. Ponder them.Drink from them. Stand below them and let them wash over your soul.
Or better still, take him with you to to your canyon of shame. Invite Christ to journey with you back to the Fremont Bridge of your world. Let Him stand beside you as you retell the events of the darkest nights of your soul.
And then listen. Listen carefully. He's speaking.
"I don't judge you guilty."
And watch. Watch carefully. He's writing. He's leaving a message. Not in the sand, but on a cross.
Not with his hand, but with his blood.
His message has two words: not guilty.”
You come before the judgment seat of God full of rebellion and mistakes. Because of his justice he cannot dismiss your sin, but because of his love he cannot dismiss you. So, in an act which stunned the heavens, he punished himself on the cross for your sins. God’s justice and love are equally honored. And you, God’s creation, are forgiven.
Conflict is inevitable but combat is optional.
The only mistake is not to risk making one.
Nothing fosters courage like a clear grasp of grace... & nothing fosters fear like an ignorance of mercy.
Mark it down: God loves you with an unearthly love. You can't win it by being winsome. You can't lose it by being a loser. But you can be blind enough to resist it.
When we see death, we see disaster. When Jesus sees death, he sees deliverance !
Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you.
You will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you.
When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment.
He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future.
Don't worry about having the right words; worry more about having the right heart. It's not eloquence he seeks, just honesty.
What the new mate, sports car, or unexpected check could never do, Christ says, "I Can." You'll love how he achieves it. He reconnects your soul with God.
