Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by John Ortberg from his book, The Me I Want to Be (p. 71). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But I thought to try harder is always what we need to do. John says, “The harder you try to hit a fast serve in tennis, the more your muscles tense up. The harder you try to impress someone on a date or while making a sale, the more you force the conversation and come across as pushy. The harder you cling to people, the more apt they are to push you away. “Sometimes trying harder helps. It can help me clean my room, push through phone calls I need to make, or run another lap. But for deeper change, I need a greater power than simply ‘trying harder’ can provide. Imagine someone advising you, ‘Try harder to relax. Try harder to go to sleep. Try harder to be graceful. Try harder to not worry. Try harder to be joyful.’” He goes on, “Often the people in the Gospels who got into the most trouble with

A thought by John Ortberg from his book, The Me I Want to Be (p. 64). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Here is the whole paragraph.   John says, “Exalted high in victory. Bent low in surrender. The two postures seem opposite, but Jesus understood that if you want to experience victory, you must start in surrender. Surrender brings power, and the need to surrender is deeply tied to Jesus’ offer of living in the flow of the Spirit. You receive power through the act of surrender that you cannot obtain any other way; you receive freedom through submission that you will otherwise never know.” He goes on, “The Twelve Steps followed by recovery groups lay out a way of life that is the single greatest path to freedom for addicts the world has ever known. But at the core of the steps lies a great paradox: In which of the twelve steps does it say ‘now try really hard to not drink’? In which of the twelve step

A thought by John Ortberg from his book, The Me I Want to Be (p. 61). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is so true, isn’t it? Now here is the whole thought.   John says, “Many people find Jesus pretty handy to have in the passenger’s seat when they require his services.” He goes on: “  Jesus, I have a health problem, and I need your help. Something hard is going on at work, and I’d like it to be different. I’m feeling anxious, and I want you to give me peace of mind. I’m feeling sad, and I’d like a little hope. I’m facing death, and I want to make sure I’m going to heaven. ” He then says, “But these people are not so sure they want Jesus driving, because if Jesus is behind the wheel, they are not in control anymore. If he is driving, they are not in charge of their wallet anymore. They no longer can simply say, ‘I’ll give sometimes when I feel generous, but I reserve the right to keep what I