Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Craig Groeschel, from his book, The Christian Atheist: When You Believe in God But Live as if He Doesn’t Exist (p. 42). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I know, I know this is not technically a thought, it is a question.   But it is a very good question. And the answer to it tells a lot about who God is to us personally.   Craig asks, “What do you call God? The Big Guy in the Sky? The Man Upstairs? Dear eight-pound, six-ounce Baby Jesus?” He then continues, “Then you don’t know him. Those titles may be clever or funny, but they certainly aren’t intimate. “If you know God, you are likely to be far more specific with him, and the words you use will reflect your accurate understanding of him. Maybe God graciously forgave you for two decades of sins and you gratefully call him ‘Savior.’ Perhaps when you pray, you call God ‘Healer’ because he’s healed your broken heart. Maybe you call him ‘Comforter’ be

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life (p. 191). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) There are things that we say that sound so good and we hope they are true. Craig says, “Maybe you’ve heard well-meaning people say, ‘God will never give you more than you can handle.’ While this sounds good and it might feel right, nowhere in the Bible does it ever actually say that. I’m almost certain most people are misquoting 1 Corinthians 10:13 when they say this. That verse reads, ‘And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.’ Clearly, we see that God won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can handle. But Scripture never says that God won’t give you more than you can handle.” He goes on, “I’d argue the opposite. God often allows you to experience more than you can handle to teach you to trust and depend on him.” Later he says, “D

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life (p. 190). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) There are a lot of questions that we have about storms and troubles and if God causes them or just allows them to happen. Craig says, “Some say that God never causes anything bad to happen. Since God is a good God, they suggest that he causes only good things, and all bad things come from our evil opposition. Others argue that God is so big and sovereign that he rules the whole universe and causes everything that happens on earth and in heaven.” He goes on, “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not God. I can’t tell you whether God causes storms or just allows them. But one thing you can count on is this: God always uses storms. When we love him and we’re pursuing his purposes, he’s always working things out for our good (Rom. 8:28). “When we recognize this truth, we can decide