Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 1741). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. What a great thing to be, a safe place to fail.   I have within me the perfectionism of a melancholic.   That is where God has been working on me all of my life in my relationships.   The success of dealing with it started with me failing and needed His forgiveness.   I think it has helped to make me a safe place to fail. Are you hard on people?   Are you quick to be hurt by them and then holding a grudge, never forgiving them?   Then you are a very lonely person.   Then you are not a safe person to be around because none of us are perfect, we all fail. Have you ever been forgiven?   How did it make you feel toward the person who forgave you?    I mean you hurt them and they forgave you.   For one it freed them from the act of you hurting them.   They were free of the pain and the possible bitterness that they could have

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 1691). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. I asked Jesus to come personally into my life at 5.   To be honest, there weren’t a lot of sins for me to confess at 5 so I didn’t for a lot of years appreciate what forgiveness was all about.   But in my thirty’s I went through what I call my jerk time.   It was basically a time of total self-centeredness and it eventually brought me to a time of resigning my staff position at a large church.   I then started selling pizzas and started falling in love again with my family and with God.    At that point I found out what forgiveness was all about.   My gratefulness and my love took on a total new dimension. God brought a very godly pastor into my life at that time who led me back to a life of wholeness and healing.   God forgave me and Margaret forgave me and those relationships took on a total different meaning in my life.  

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 1580). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. I have been having a problem this morning with finding a thought that quickens some thought in me that I pray would do the same in you.   Now the temptation is the desire to write something that has a lot of readers.   But the miracle may be in God using the thought for one reader as a defining moment in their life.   It’s in the context of sacrifice where miracles happen. What does that say to you?   Where are you having great anxiety and you need God to work?   Stop and think about what sacrifice maybe God is asking you to do.    Money is usually where we think about sacrifice but what about time?   Maybe you have no time but God wants you sacrifice some time to reach out to a hurting person.   Maybe it is money and you fear you’re not going to have enough to meet your obligations but you feel God wants you to give to some

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Locations 1466-1467). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition . I have been going through something that I haven’t gone through for a while.   I am retired, but my wife. Margaret is still working and will probably be working for another 8 or 9 years.   Now I have usually lived with the idea that no matter what did we would make it.   I have lived really without fear but I’m not really doing so well now.   I’m having some fear of when we are both retired if we will have enough. We have moved many different times clear across the country to start a new church with no sense of fear.   We did it because we believed God was calling us to do it.   We didn’t do it for us but we did it for Him.   He has always taken care of us.   Our faith has always been rewarded. Now this blog has been a good time of reflection.   I started writing this earlier in a coffee shop in Old Pasadena which

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 1408). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Editio n. Wow.   The potential that is available through us is astounding and also the potential to stop from happening because of us is overwhelming.   I am reading right now daily of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament and specifically right now about God’s moving Paul from Jerusalem to Rome where God had a great plan for Paul.   Now he is in the middle of being taken to Rome by Roman soldiers.   The Jews in Jerusalem are trying to kill him.   But  God wants Paul to write a big part of the New Testament.   During this difficult process to get him there Paul doesn’t know God’s full plans but he was just following one step at a time. Now from that background, what if during one of those times of Paul’s standing up with Christ’s story and bringing out great hate from the Jews, what if he had said, “Enough is enough, I am

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Locations 1334-1335). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. The promise that God gave to this Old Testament character, Joshua was, "You will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give to them." There is the promise but there is also the task.   He is saying, Joshua, “I’m going to give you the opportunity to lead these people but then you must lead them.”   Along with opportunity goes responsibility. God has given me the desire and the opportunity and the passion to encourage people through blogging.   Now I know He will give me inspiration in what to say but it will go away if I don’t sit down and start writing.   Sometimes it doesn’t even start coming until I have set down with my laptop and looking for a thought and then start writing. To be honest, today I was tempted to not write but the opportunity to encourage someone toda

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus,(2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 400). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. When we have too high an opinion of ourselves we can look down or disregard other people.    Everyone is here to take care of me of my needs of my wants and my desires.   The opposite is also true.   If I don’t value myself then I am afraid of other people.   I don’t even want to talk to them let alone give them any value.   I feel that I don’t have anything to give. But each one of us has the potential for great worth and great value.   And it comes from adding value and worth to others.   We are instruments of God to reach out and make a difference in other people’s lives, to show them they are special.   We don’t do it to get it but we get it because we do it. How do you see yourself?   How do you see other people?   Jesus said that we are to love others as we love ourselves.   Jesus gave His life for us.   He did

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 1048). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. I have found that sometimes it is difficult to tell the truth but I have also found that it is more difficult to remember a lie.   I have lived the truth.   All I have to do is remember what I have done but I haven’t lived a lie.   I just made it up and I then have to remember it.   To tell a lie makes life more complicated. One of the reasons why I write this blog is to encourage you in your life.   I want you to really enjoy your life.   Today my purpose is to encourage you to tell the truth. What do you want to be known as, a person they can trust or someone they can’t?   What if you are filling out an application for a job you really want?   It is your dream job.   You have the ability to do it but you have to put down some references of people who have worked with you and who really know you.   Now it is a job that

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Sou l (Kindle Location 266). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. Think of the places you would never have seen if you had given in to the fear to fly.   Think of all the sicknesses you would have had if you had given in to the fear of getting a shot. Think of all the new foods you wouldn’t have eaten if you would have given in to the fear to eat something different. Think of all the friendships you would have missed if you had given in to the fear of rejection. Think of all the adventures you would have missed doing if you had given in to the fear to risk. Think of all the excitement and all the joy you wouldn’t have experienced if you had given in to the fear to bring a child into the world. Think of all the new worlds that your child wouldn’t have seen if you would have given in to the fear of their getting hurt. Think of the full life you wouldn’t have lived if

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Location 160). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. I have been dealing with this even in my writing this blog.   I had gotten to the place that I was writing it as a duty, a task.   Because of that it was becoming a burden instead of a passion, a privilege.   Just acknowledging that has bought a change, a renewed passion. Now I understand how life can lose its passion.   It happens in many marriages.   What they once did out of excitement for the one they love turns in to obligations and that can be dangerous.   I was talking the other day with someone about the importance of the husband and wife relationship in a family.   Oh I understand the responsibility of being a parent. Those kids didn’t choose to be a part of the family but your wife/husband did.   They chose to be your mate out of deep love, deep passion for you.   That relationship is the most important one in th

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Sou l (Kindle Location 350). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. I was sitting today at Starbucks with a couple of my friends and I said that I was born a pessimist and the lady said, “No way, I can’t believe that.”   Well I was.   One day I was looking at myself and decided that was one thing that I wanted to change.   I wanted to be a positive person not a negative one so I set out to change and I have. What about you?   What is it that you want to change?   Now I am always going to be fairly short.   Being six foot is not an option but weighing less than 260 lbs. is.   I set out to change that and I have lost 50lbs.   What do you want to change?   2 Corinthians 5:17 in the New Testament of the Bible gives us some hope here.   It says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”   That is a part of having a relationship with Ch

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2003-09-04) from his book,  Uprising: A Revolution of the Sou l (Kindle Location 240). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition . I understand the desire that we have to live in a free country.   The USA came in existence because of a desire to have religious freedom and we will do all we can to keep it.   It seems that some of those freedoms are slowly being taken away from us.   But if you read the book in the New Testament called the Acts of the Apostles you will see that the church was born under the rule of the dominion of a pagan empire. That is what this thought by Erwin was talking about.     Now I said that to say that we need to be careful to live with an expectation of God to provide us with this freedom.   We are no better than those Christians who live in the Peking Jerusalem Corridor who are under persecution every day.   God loves them just as much as He loves us.   We need to be thankful every day that we have this privilege but we al

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2003-09-04) from his book, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (Kindle Locations 237-238). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. There are so outside situations that can stop us from living free.   There are people who live in Red China who are living freer than people who live in the United States.   There are people who are poor who are living freer than people who have wealth.   There are people who are sick in bed who are freer than those who are young and healthy.   There are married people who are living freer than single people.   The Apostle Paul was free while in prison.   He wrote a big part of the New Testament.   The Apostle John was free on the Isle of Patmos. He wrote 5 books of the NT including the Revelations.   Jesus was free on the Cross.   He was free to save us.   Corrie Ten Boom was free in a Nazi Concentration Camp.   Her story has transformed so many people’s lives. Your situation doesn’t make you free, your Savior does