Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 2278). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I want to go back to a section that I had passed over but I believe we need to go back and look at.   It is a section that deals with feelings.   Chris says, “Many bad decisions are made when feelings are in control. And then our feelings fade. Whether it’s feeling in love or road-rage angry, those emotions eventually pass like a storm front.” He goes on, “In fact, the compulsion to lead with our feelings is probably one of the greatest challenges to living by faith. Many times I’ve sat across from another man in our church who is trying to justify leaving his wife so he can be with his new ‘soul mate.’ His rationale is that God wants him to be happy, right? So isn’t it better to be with the person he ‘truly loves’ rather than t...

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 3019). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Here is another good principle to look at here in the first month of 2018 Ecclesiastes 4:6 says, ““Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind” In a practical application of this verse, Chris says, “It is better to have less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does. It is better to have enough so that you can enjoy what you have than to have more and never enjoy it. Peace is better than stress. Less really is more.” He goes on, “Most of us think that if one of something is good, then two has to be better. We assume if one dollar is good, then two is better. If one car is good, then two cars must be better. If one child is good, then five kids must be better (well, that’s what Tammy...

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, T he Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 2883). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Earlier Chris said, “The secret to focusing on first things is maintaining order, keeping our priorities in the right sequence. Our perspective on order determines our capacity.”   He later says, “One of my favorite illustrations of this principle came from a business seminar I attended in Colorado many years ago. It made a huge impact on me, so I often include it whenever I teach on the way order influences the rest of our lives. I take two gallon-sized glass jars and fill one about three-quarters full with the little gravel that goes into aquariums. Then I’ll have about seven or eight big rocks at least the size of my fist or larger. “The gravel represents all the ‘little things’ in our day—texting, shopping, waiting in line at St...