Love cannot be learned in isolation. You have to be around people - irritating, imperfect, frustrating people.
Worship isn't practiced for what YOU can get out of it; it's practiced for the honour and glory of God!
If someone hurts you repeatedly, God commands you forgive then instantly. You are not expected to trust them immediately and you definitely are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you.
We all have quirks and annoying traits. But community has nothing to do with compatibility. Real community happens when people know it is safe to share their doubts and fears without being judged.
Whenever I judge another believer I loose fellowship with God, I expose my own pride and insecurity, I set myself up to be judged by God and I harm the fellowship of the church. That’s the devil’s job – anytime we do the same, we’re being duped into doing Satan’s work for him.
It is a sacrifice to patiently absorb the anger of others, especially if it's unfounded.
You are a work in progress and your spiritual transformation will take the rest of your life here on earth; and even then it won’t be complete.
Spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between you and the Holy Spirit.
The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives – IT IS THE LIVING WORD!
Romans 8:28-29 ~ “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them”.
Notice that God tells us to give thanks ‘IN all circumstances’ and not ‘FOR all circumstances’. (God doesn’t expect us to be thankful for the bad, for the abnormal, for the hurtful, for evil, for sin, for suffering, or for their painful consequences in the world.)
Temptation always starts in your mind, not in your circumstances.
Remember that God is never in a hurry, but He is always on time. He will use your entire lifetime to prepare you for your role in eternity.
You are the way you are because you were made for a specific ministry. You are God’s handcrafted work of art – custom-designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece.
The very experiences that you have resented or regretted most in life (one’s you want to hide or forget) are the experiences that God wants you to use to help others – they are your ministry – to use them you must be willing to share them.
Be wary of serving or teaching or giving generously out of maturity rather than because it is your spiritual gift.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can” – John Wesley
Do little things as if they were great things – God is watching us…
Living for your ministry and living for money are mutually exclusive goals. Money and materialism has the greatest potential to replace GOD in your life.
You can impress people from a distance, but you must get close to influence them – the most essential quality for leadership is not perfection, but credibility.
It is easy to get distracted and sidelined from your mission because Satan would rather have you do anything besides sharing your faith – even all kinds of good things as long as you don’t take anyone to Heaven with you.
As long as you know even one person who doesn’t know Christ, you must keep praying for them, serving them in love, and sharing the Good News with them.
We have no excuse not to spread the Good News. With Internet access we can personally communicate with people in virtually every country on earth. It has never been easier in history to fulfill your commission to go to the whole world.
The ultimate definition of a life well lived would prove to be: Doing the eternal and timeless (God’s purposes) in a contemporary and timely way (in your generation). – That is what the Purpose Driven Life is all about.
Love y'all ~ SB
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