“Eye contact is a powerful thing, and not just as a truth serum.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2015-10-06) from his book, If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God's What If Possibilities (Kindle Locations 3600-3601). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

What Mark says following this is great. It may be exactly what you need.

Think of this. Mark says, “So Jesus— the Truth, the Whole Truth, Nothing But the Truth— leveraged the power of eye contact with Peter at a critical moment. If you had just denied Jesus three times, wouldn’t you think your career as a disciple was over with? Peter would have given up on himself, save a look. It was the look that changed his life. I know I’m reading between the lines, but there wasn’t one wink of condemnation. After all, Jesus could have simply called him out. If He had used words, He would have outed Peter, and Peter probably would have ended up on a cross next to Him! So Jesus gave him a look— a look of utter love, a look of absolute forgiveness. With one look, Jesus said, ‘I forgive you, I love you— I’m still in your corner.’ Without saying a word, Jesus said it all. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. That’s how He looks at you.”

Now that is not the kind of look that we think we will get is it? Mark then says, “We have a mistaken notion that God is keeping His eye on us for all the wrong reasons— to catch us doing something wrong. We think he’s like Ben Stiller’s future father-in-law in Meet the Parents. The former CIA counterintelligence officer, played by Robert De Niro, points to his eyes, then points to Greg. In other words, I’ve got my eye on you. And it wasn’t for the right reasons.”

Do you feel that way about God?

Mark continues, “God has His all-seeing eye on you. In fact, He never takes His eyes off you. But it’s not because He’s some cosmic killjoy who wants to catch you doing something wrong. He can’t take His eyes off you because you’re the apple of His eye. He loves you too much to look away!”

Did you need that today?

Comments

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference. You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog