Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2016-03-01) from his book, (UN)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things (p. 66). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We want so much to understand ourselves, don’t we?   It is important for us to really know ourselves but the key two words here are “in part.”   Steven says, “Sure, even without God we can understand ourselves, in part. We can explore our temperaments and personalities. We can define our likes and dislikes. We can list our aptitudes and ineptitudes. We can feel our way through our emotional labyrinths and delve deep into our buried traumas. There is a place for all that. I’m not against counselors or psychiatrists or self-help. They exist precisely because this whole question of identity is so deeply ingrained in us.” But he goes on to say, “But apart from God, it’s impossible to get a clear picture of who we are, because our identity

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2016-03-01) from his book, (UN)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things (p. 59). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) You’ve heard the saying haven’t you, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”?   It’s puts a lot of pressure on us when we meet new people doesn't it? But with God that isn’t true.   Steven says, “When it comes to God, the word impression doesn’t apply. First impressions, second impressions, false impressions, last impressions— they are irrelevant to him because he knows the real you. He sees past the facade and recognizes you for who you really are.”   He then says, “ You don’t need to impress him to gain his favor. That’s a fallacy that haunts Christians and non-Christians alike. Often I find it lurking in the shadows of my own heart. We think we have to clean ourselves up before we draw close to God. We assume

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2016-03-01) from his book, (UN)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things (p. 54). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Do you feel and act like that is true?   Steven says, “We think, Good thing Jesus died for me, because otherwise there’s no way God could tolerate me. Like most erroneous thinking, there is a kernel of truth in this belief. God is perfectly holy. Clearly we are not. We were sinners who deserved eternal separation from God. Our only hope is the righteousness that Jesus gives us through the Cross. That’s the foundation of Christianity.   So from a legal, judicial viewpoint, when God looks at us, he sees Jesus, and that is our saving grace.” But then Steven goes on, “But from a relational viewpoint, God doesn’t merely tolerate us. He loves us, pursues us, and embraces us.”   Oh I love that. But we don’t live like that is true.   Steven sa