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Showing posts with the label Craig Groeschel

“You will become like your closest friends. Count on it.”

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life (p. 142). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Who are your closest friends?   Craig says, “When we connect with another person, we become a conduit for their values, beliefs, and decisions… In the Bible, Solomon wrote, ‘Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm’ (Prov. 13:20). If you stick close to people who are wise, you’ll become wiser. If you hang out with people who are godly, you’re likely going to grow closer to God. If you become close friends with people who make good decisions, chances are you’ll make good decisions too. ” Craig later says, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.   Any success I have in life is the direct result of a decision that changed the story I get to tell today. With God’s help, I connected with the best, God-loving, wise people I could fin

“God never meant for the word church to refer to a building.”

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life (p. 130). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Did you realize that? Craig says, “It wasn’t until I was in seminary that I learned the history of God’s church. For the first couple of centuries, it was incredibly difficult for followers of Jesus to gather. For one thing, their lives were often in danger. They also couldn’t own buildings, so finding public places where they could gather was challenging. Then in AD 313, Emperor Constantine declared Christianity a legal religion. For the first time in history, it became safe (at least in some places) for Christians to gather, and for the first time, churches could own buildings.” He goes on, “But we have to remember that the church is not a building. The church is the people. That’s why I try to remind myself that we don’t go to church; we are the church. “And since we

“God has called us to be spiritual contributors.”

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life (p. 128). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Here are two other thoughts by Craig that hit me while reading this morning:   1. “Serving isn’t something we do. A servant is who we’re called to be.” And 2. “The phrase ‘I can’t find a church that meets my needs’ is one of the most unbiblical statements any Christian could utter.” Now here is the whole today's focused thought, “We forget that we are not made to be spiritual consumers. God has called us to be spiritual contributors. And the church does not exist for us. We are the church, and we exist for the world.” He goes on, “When my mind shifts from being a spiritual consumer—it’s all about me, what I want, what I get, what I prefer—to becoming a spiritual contributor, everything changes. I am here to serve God and to love people. I exist to make a difference. Go