Just Continue That Thought...

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“So what if, instead of calling it like we see it, we began to call it like God says it?”

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2014-02-11) from his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others (Kindle Locations 3186-3187). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. I had my 67 th birthday yesterday. There I said it, I am 67. I had problems when I turned 50, I had problems when I turned 60 and it seems every year since I’ve had problems, so I quit counting and even having a bd after I turned 65. I said that was the last year I needed to count so I had started saying that I was 65+. I mean my life and effectiveness in making a difference was slowly being taken away. I have through the years been able to turn what I perceived as a negative into a positive so to me not counting anymore was a way of handling a negative but the truth is it really was living with a heart of ingratitude. I should be celebrating instead of in despair or denial. Being 67 is a tremendous opportunity of telling God thanks a...

“Gratitude allows us to disconnect discouragement at the power source by choosing to call God good in spite of our situation.”

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2014-02-11) from his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others (Kindle Locations 3113-3114). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) There are so many qualities of God that make such a difference if we focus on them especially in difficult times and I have found focusing on God’s goodness is especially uplifting. I mean everything that happens to the committed Christian must go through God’s love and His goodness. Let’s say that the Enemy throws something at us to hurt us which is his way of getting back at God whom he hates. Now my kids getting hurt gets at me more than if I am hurt. But when that happens as it goes through God’s love and His goodness the purpose is changed from my harm to my good. T he circumstance may also change, God can do that but He can also change the purpose even if the circumstance doesn’t ...

“Believing God means assuming that He is always working even when our faith and prayers and love don’t seem to be working at all.”

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2014-02-11) from his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others (Kindle Locations 3019-3020). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is very hard to do. You are going through it and you have prayed and prayed and you thought you were believing but you are not getting what you are expecting from God. And that can mess up your relationship with God and your belief that He really cares. I mean if He really cared about me He would do something. But “believing means assuming that He is always working” even when we don’t see it. That can be very hard to do. Where do you get that kind of believing? Well experience is a good place to start. You can read the Bible and see the experiences of people there. You strive to put yourself in the story without knowing the end and you then read the end and see ho...

“If God always met our expectations, He’d never be able to exceed them.”

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2014-02-11) from his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others (Kindle Location 2977). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. What a great uplifting thought. As I was walking back home from the Starbucks where I read this it stayed with me with deep emotion. God has been and is so good to me. So what is your expectation of God? Has He always met your expectations? I f He did in my life it would still be way better than I deserve but He has taken me way beyond my expectations. Steven continues, “Sometimes God takes us to another level by building higher. Sometimes He does it by digging deeper. But at all times He is working for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” And that is where faith and trust come in. Many times people are disappointed in what He gives them but that is where trust comes in. Does He have a plan and do ...

“The key to being free from the stranglehold of past failures and mistakes is to learn the lesson and forget the details.”

A thought by John C Maxwell, (2013-10-08) from his book, Sometimes You Win--Sometimes You Learn: Life's Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses (p. 199). Center Street. Kindle Edition. Add caption But we usually do the opposite, we remember the details, rehearse, relive the details and don’t learn anything. Those failures, those mistakes take on a life of their own and we become them. And that is such a waist. I was listening to Mike and Mike on ESPN this morning. And Mike Greenberg was dealing with identity. He was talking about Mike Golic his radio host partner about his identity. He thought that Mike Golic would probably think of himself more as a retired football player but who would be known more for his TV and Radio work. But his identity was as a football player. What about your identity? Who would you say you are? I am divorced. I am a failure. I am… What you say you are tells me where you are ...

“Disappointment is the gap between what I expect and what I experience.”

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2014-02-11) from his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others (Kindle Locations 2857-2858). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. And we all have a bunch of those don’t we? And there is real danger in there. One of the phrases that I have quoted to the point I’m sure of annoyance to my family is the phrase, “too high expectations bring about frustration.” And we all have experienced that haven’t we? For some it is their mate, to others it could be their occupations, or maybe life itself. But there is real danger in there. Steven continues, “Disappointed expectations, when full-grown, give birth to chronic discouragement. If you allow this discouragement to run rampant in your life, you’ll lose your hope.” Again this is the follow ground that the Enemy sows his lies. Now here is the key and I quote Steven, “Giving in to discouragement pacifies your disappoint...

“Discouragement always displaces hope and leaves you feeling something like this: It’s not working, so what’s the point?”

A thought by Steven Furtick, (2014-02-11) from his book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others (Kindle Locations 2799-2800). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. I have had the potential for discouragement a few times this week. We overspent this last weekend and I knew that we were going to be real tight till the next paycheck. I don’t do real well with that. But we set up a plan and we are making it. Many of you understand the discouragement of not have enough money to live on. My wife, Margaret has been having some real trouble with her shoulder. It even wakes her up in the night. The physical therapy is real painful and doesn’t seem to be working and that can be very discouraging for her. We’re working through that and headed into another plan of attack. But many of you understand the discouragement of pain. Yesterday I had some trouble in finding the right thought to writ...