Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus from his book, The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life (p. 5). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Erwin is giving us a choice and God does that to us every day, doesn’t he? Erwin says, “Odds are that you and I will fall at the average. That’s why it’s called the average. It’s where most of us live. To be above average demands a choice. It requires that we defy the odds. You have no control of whether you have been endowed with above-average talent or intelligence or physical attributes. What you can control is whether you choose to live your life defined and determined by the status quo. Even when the law of averages works against you, you can still defy the odds.” At a key time in his life, Erwin had his step father, Bill, describe him as average.   Erwin says, “Bill’s was a statement of outcome and actions. I walked away from his house that day with a clear res

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are (p. 201). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Some people love to speak boldly to others but sometimes we need to do it to ourselves.    Craig says, “When we tell ourselves the truth, both from God’s Word and from events in our lives when God’s intervention was undeniable, we use the power of bold words to boost our faith. I’ve got a friend who battled with lustful thoughts for decades and couldn’t overcome the problem. Then he started preaching to himself every day. Telling himself the truth about who he was, who God is, and who women are, helped him to break a stronghold. God’s Word renewed his mind, and suddenly he woke up and said, ‘I’m no longer battling with lust.’ What did he do? He preached his way boldly to victory in his life.” Craig goes on, “You can do the same thing. If you’ve never preached a sermon to yourself, it’s time you

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are (p. 178). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Ok, that thought caught my attention and it looks like it did you too. Craig says, “What you pray for, or what you don’t pray for, reflects what you believe about who God is, what his character is like, and his disposition toward us, his children. It’s as if the words we use in our prayers are like pieces of mirrored glass, each one reflecting our beliefs about the one we’re addressing.” He goes on, “For example, if you don’t pray at all, then you likely don’t believe in God or don’t believe he answers prayer. If you pray very small prayers all of the time, you probably don’t really believe in a God who answers big prayers. If almost all of your prayers are for yourself and your own well-being — ‘bless me, help me, comfort me, be with me’ — then this reflects your belief that God is there to se