Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are (p. 145). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I never thought about that.   But it is true, isn’t it? Craig goes on, “These attitudes reflect the false belief that we don’t deserve bad but we do deserve good.”   Think about how we whine and gripe when things are going bad and even how we talk to God during bad times. But then Craig brings us back to the truth.   He says, “Remember, all we really deserve is hell. If you’re a Christian, Christ has saved you from the pit of your sin. You’ve been filled with the Spirit of God. You’re adopted into God’s eternal family. Your life is not your own. You were bought with a price — the blood of Jesus shed for you on the cross.”   And we need to constantly be reminded of that fact, don ’t we ? Craig is dealing with gratitude in this section and earlier he said, “ When you dig up the roots of enti

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are (p. 127). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Ok, then what is the difference between honor and respect?   Good question. Craig says, “Honor lifts up, encourages, and builds. You might think, ‘I’m not going to show this person honor because they don’t deserve it. They’re not honorable.’ But showing honor doesn’t work like that. That’s mistaking honor for respect. Respect is earned. Honor is given. This is a crucial distinction. You should honor someone just because of the position where God has placed them in your life. We must show honor freely.” Earlier he shared, “Years ago, Amy and I were working with this couple. Their marriage was hanging by a thread. When we’d get together with them, over and over again, the wife just continually dishonored her husband. She said mean things about him. She derided him, outlining in minute detail ever

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are (p. 125). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I know we want our relationships to be very special, don’t we?   But so many times they are just ordinary. Craig says, “Would you like to know how you can have a common or ordinary relationship? Dishonor the other person. Simply treat them as common or ordinary. Take any dating relationship. When couples first get together, being in love comes so easily. Every day is filled with sunshine. And even when it rains, all you see is rainbows. You know why? Because whether you realize it or not, you’re continually showing honor to each other. He opens doors for her. She tells her friends about all of his great qualities. He brings her presents and flowers. She bakes him cookies and loves to hear all about his day, every day — even the boring details!” He goes on, “You demonstrate honor to each other,