Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Play the Man: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be (p. 9). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) You may question that thought so let’s go on. Mark says, “In fact, Scripture uses the strongest type of anger, hate , to describe how we should feel about sin (Romans 12:9).   And if we hated sin more, we might do it less! Now, if that gets translated the wrong way, it’s extremely dangerous. It’s sin, not sinners. “Jesus got mad. He got mad at the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He got mad at death when it robbed Him of His friend Lazarus. He got mad at the disciples when they tried to deter Him from the cross. He got mad at the money changers who turned the temple into a den of thieves, and then He threw a temple tantrum! That’s tough love!” He goes on, “Now, here’s a little tip. If you try to play God instead of playing the man, it won’t work out so well. When you

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Play the Man: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be (p. 6). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Love has so many meanings, doesn’t it?   Now tough love may not be so romantic, but it could make a real difference in you and someone close to you. Mark says, “The message of the gospel can be captured in two words: love conquers. But that love is not the puppy love our culture celebrates à la The Bachelorette. It’s a long-suffering love. It’s a love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:7). It’s a love that even loves its enemies. “Tough love is sacrificial love— a love that is willing to be nailed to a cross for someone else’s sin. Tough love is unconditional love— a love that is not dictated by someone else’s performance. Tough love is covenantal love— for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God (p. 181). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Did you know that? Mark says, “Do you know why? Because you’re the apple of His eye! (See Psalm 17:8) Not only that, His ear is tuned to your voice, so tuned that He hears more than words.” Psalm 5:1, (HCSB) says, “Listen to my words, LORD; consider my sighing.” Mark then says, “A sigh is a long, deep breath. It’s a physiological response to sadness. And it’s very similar to the gentle whisper of the still small voice. Sighing is what we do when we don’t know what to say. But according to the psalmist, it’s more than a low-frequency distress signal; it’s a wordless prayer. “The death of my father-in-law, Bob Schmidgall, might rank as the greatest shock of my life. At fifty-five years of age, he was in the prime of life. He had even been given a clean bill of health by