Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2011-01-18) from his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (p. 140). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition . That is such a life-giving thought.   So many people just want to die because of some mistake that they made.   They can’t forgive themselves and so they live in such despair but they don’t have to. Yes that mistake may be there and your marriage is over or you can’t work in that job but life isn’t over.   The story of Zachariah in the gospel of Luke in the Bible is a good place to look. An Angel came to him one day and told him that God had heard his prayer and that his wife, Elizabeth was going to have a son.   But Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this?   I’m now an old man and my wife is an old woman.”  He must have been praying this prayer for a long time.  But  because he didn’t believe him that it was going to now happen the angel took his ability to speak away from him.   He blew it and suffered s

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) from his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (pp. 47-48). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition . In your time of depression are you remembering what God has done for you in the past, thanking Him for all His blessings?  In your time of loneliness are you remembering that He will never leave you or forsake you?  In your time of fear are you remembering that perfect love casts out all fear?  In your time of worrying are you remembering that God is greater than anything you are facing?  In your time of guilt are you remembering that God forgives?  In your time of wandering and wondering are you remembering that if you trust Him He will make your way straight? Look at your mood.  That will tell you what you are remembering and what you are forgetting. What are you remembering?

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) in his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (pp. 139-140). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition. I love the story about a woman who said that God talked to her personally.  Her pastor heard her telling someone that and he took her aside to set her straight.  He wanted to prove to her that God didn’t talk to her so he said, “Now the next time you are talking to God would you ask Him something that He only knows about me, would you ask Him, ‘What was the last sin that I asked Him to forgive me for?’  Would you ask Him?”  She said she would. A few days later, the pastor met with her and he asked her if she had asked God, “What was the last sin that he had asked Him to forgive his for?”  She said she had.  The pastor then asked knowing that he had her now, “Well what did He say?”  She then said that He said, “I don’t remember.” Now of course that didn’t really happen but it does make a correct point that at the end of 2011 and t

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) from his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (p. 84). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition . I don’t know how you handled wrong and right answers on a test when you were young  or even if they mattered to you.  Maybe all that mattered to you was the grade.  But for me it was those questions that I got wrong.  I would find out which ones they were and then I would search the book or my notes and find out what the right answer was.  The right answers I had gotten right so I didn’t worry about them anymore but those I had gotten wrong I searched to find what was right. Our failures in life can be like that too.  There is always a invaluable lesson to be learned in life no matter what it is.  Now I chose a long time ago to not be controlled by the negatives of life but to change them into a positive.  Somehow in every negative in my life, God has helped me to see it from a positive standpoint.  It has taken a lot of years of every

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) in his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (p. 140). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition . We each one have made them, haven’t we?  I went through what I call my three year jerk time quite a few years back.  I totally put what I wanted first over my family but God bought me out of that time and forgave me.  I am so glad that I am not defined by that time in my life. One way it does define us is when we relive the mistake over and over and never forgive ourselves.  That mistake can hold us emotionally captive but it only does that if we don’t let it go.  There is no do over.  If there is a confession to be made or a restitution to be done then confess and do whatever needs to be done then it is over.  We cannot do any more than that about it except to learn from it.  The key is to not make the same mistake in the present.  If you keep doing it then you will be defined by it but if you learn from your mistake and not do it

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) in his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (p. 154). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition . We strive to do what we can to define who we are.  We drive the right car, we wear the right clothes.  We live in the right place.  We even put our kids in the right activities, the right school but we feel like we still come up short. Maybe it is because of something that we did when we were younger that no matter what we do or what we have we just can’t get away from it.  That thing defines us in our mind. Maybe it is what someone said about you.  That is what defines you.  Maybe it is because of an unpleaseable person in your life.  No matter what you did, it was always wrong.  You got an A but you should have gotten an A+.   No matter what it was it wasn’t enough so you always felt like you were a failure or you were told you were and because they were an adult you believed them. Listen you are not defined by what you did wr

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2011-01-18) from his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (p. 72). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition. I have learned in my later years how to get to know people so I can help them.  I don’t remember where I found this but it has really helped me.  Here it is: I am not what I think I am , I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am. Did you get that?  Read it again… I am not what I think I am; I am not what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am.  It doesn’t really matter what the truth is but what I think the truth is.  Now of course in deeper relationships the real truth is what matters but that's for another time. I know some people who believe that nobody likes them so they go through life very alone and very afraid.  It doesn’t matter what the truth is.  The truth is there is one person who likes them, me, because I have chosen to like everybody.  But it still doesn’t matter what the truth is if they

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) in his book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (p. 140). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition. One of the great benefits to a relationship with GOD is that as our creator HE knows what our real potential is.  HE is our greatest fan.  HE knows what we can be because HE created us.  HE knows what I might have been. But so much of the time we are controlled by the “it’s too late” attitude.  Do you live with a sense of despair because you feel that life has left you behind and there is no way you can catch up?  You have so many regrets, so many failures; you’ve made so many mistakes.  In the next paragraph Mark said, “Your mistakes may define your past, but they don’t have to define your present.”   That is so important for us to really grab hold of.    I don’t care what age you are GOD is not done with you.  Your best days are ahead of you if you let HIM transform your mind and give you HIS perspective on what you still can be.  Despair wi

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) in his book Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny (p. 146). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.  We have had for a number of years in the church world, worship wars.  What that means is there have been major disagreements over the kind of music we use in our church gatherings.  I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either.   Worship is the way I share my love for GOD.  It’s toward HIM, for HIM not toward me, for me.   Yes music is one way we worship but of course it’s not the only way.  I love my wife Margaret but I don’t just sing love songs to her to express my love.  The same is true with GOD.  A little over 64 years ago GOD created me and released me into the world.  He gave me a potential that HE created me to be.  Now because of sin I am an imperfect marred human being.  But I have within me the ability to have a relationship with CHRIST which in turn will empower me to become what HE created me to be.  So the best way I can show HIM I

A thought by Mark Batterson (2011-01-18) in his book,   Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny   (p. 140). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition. This quote by Mark Batterson from his book,   Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny    got me thinking about doing some more writing.  I even bought another computer just for that task. I have been spending time in writing a blog called  bill’s front porch  that is helpful in the practics of the Bible but I have some other areas that interest me.  I do a lot of reading and in my reading I like to underline or in my Kindle I like to highlight phrases that catch my attention.  So the thought came to me to take those phrases and  Just  Continue That Thought  but from my perspective.  So that is what this new blog is all about.  As you see there is the quote and then all the info about the author and the name of the book.  It also is possible to click on the title and go to  Amazon.com  and buy the book. Now back to this quote.  I am a 64 y