Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Double Blessing (p. 112). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) And that is not what we want, is it? Make says, “I wasn’t ready to get married. Is anyone? Lora and I weren’t ready to have children. Who is? I wasn’t ready to pastor a church at twenty-five. We weren’t ready to invest in missions, launch a second campus, open a coffeehouse, or build out a city block into a prototype campus, child-development center, and mixed-use marketplace. “Yes, you need to pray like there’s no tomorrow. But you also have to plan like there is one! God doesn’t bless a lack of planning any more than a lack of praying. That said, the planets will never be perfectly aligned. At some point, you’ve got to quit making excuses. You have to pick up the plow and start seeding the soil. Or in this case, the clouds!” He goes on, “We have a little mantra at NCC: ‘Go, set, ready!’ Th...

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Double Blessing (p. 96). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) The story is found in Mark 2:25-28.   That’s in the New Testament of the Bible. Mark Batterson says, “Jesus laid hands on a blind man, and this man experienced a partial miracle. His sight was restored, but people looked like trees walking. So, he was still myopic—let’s call it 20/100. That is where many of us doubt God instead of praising God for a partial miracle. We give up because we didn’t get the whole miracle, but some miracles happen in stages! Those are the moments when we need to double down in prayer!” Mark continues, “If you want to experience the whole miracle, try praising God for partial miracles! What’s a partial miracle? It’s a small step in the right direction! In this instance, it’s going from legally blind to 20/100. Too often we withhold our praise for partial miracles, an...

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Double Blessing (p. 94). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) So, generosity and gratitude go together. Mark says, “A wide variety of well-substantiated studies have found that gratitude increases patience, decreases depression, replenishes willpower, and reduces stress.1 It doesn’t just lengthen life; it improves the quality of life. And if you want a good night’s sleep, don’t count sheep. Count your blessings! “The science of gratitude is pretty straight forward but putting it into practice is an art form. Not only is experimenting with new ways of expressing gratitude advisable, but it’s also biblical. Isn’t that what the psalmist advocates? ‘Sing to the LORD a new song.’ (Psalm 96:1) God doesn’t just want to be worshipped out of left-brain memory; He wants to be worshipped out of right-brain imagination. Finding new words and new ways to worship God is p...