Charles R. Swindoll (quotes)

Take charge of your thoughts!
Pride leaves no room for grace.
God’s timing is always on time.
Worry and faith just don’t mix.
Friends make life a lot more fun.
GRACE: All you can do is take it.
We are in charge of our attitudes.
Think first. Talk less. Start today.
When God’s in it, the job gets done.
I am often the brunt of my own humor.
Choose to view life through God’s eyes.
No pressure is greater than God’s power.
Anyone who influences others is a leader.
Know yourself, like yourself, be yourself.
I believe firmly in God’s control in life.
Do you want to be wise? Choose wise friends
Confidence brings joy when we let God be God.
First impressions never have a second chance.
Lead with action and let the feelings follow.
Not every Christian finds it easy to believe.
Convictions are a matter of choice, not force.
A teardrop on earth summons the King of heaven.
Worry erases the promises of God from your mind.
If you want to stop an argument, close your mouth.
No marriage is “too dead” for the Lord to restore.
The lens of fear magnifies the size of uncertainty.
Anything under God’s control is never out of control.
Refuse to let your situation determine your attitude.
Patience is a bitter plant that produces sweet fruit.
It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray.
Those who feed on rumors are small, suspicious souls.
God’s heavenly plan doesn’t always make earthly sense.
Believing in grace is one thing. Living it is another.
Worry is a complete waste of energy. It solves nothing.
God uses those who seem ill-fitted for a significant life.
Worry is characteristic of the heathen, not the Christian.
Who can ever measure the benefit of a mother’s inspiration?
I want to preach till the last breath in my lungs runs out.
Cults use our vocabulary, but they don’t use our dictionary.
Don’t seek more days in your life but more life in your days.
Joy springs from a life lived with eternity’s values in view.
Good listeners believe they can learn something from everyone.
Don’t be afraid of outgiving God. It is impossible to do that.
Nothing speaks louder or more powerfully than a life of integrity
It helps me if I remember that God is in charge of my day – not I.
The beautiful thing about encouragement is that anybody can do it.
Grace is ours. Let’s live it! Deny it or debate it and we kill it.
If I had my life to live over, I’d have spent more hours in worship.
The past is over… forget it. The future holds hope… reach for it.
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
When it seems like that’s all there is, remember all you have in Him.
The wonderful thing about God is he knows what we need to persuade us.
Oh, how horrible our sins look when they are committed by someone else.
You know one of the most encouraging things about faith? It pleases God.
Two words will help you cope when you run low on hope: accept and trust.
We need discernment in what we see and what we hear and what we believe.
It’s not our church; it’s God’s – it’s not our responsibility to run it!
The more impossible the situation, the greater God accomplishes His work.
God presents the Sabbath rest as a shelter we can enter. (Hebrews 4:1-11)
When we have God in clear focus, His powerful presence eclipses our fear.
Leadership is influence. To the extent we influence others, we lead them.
One of the worst things you can give to your people is someone you’re not.
If you never get criticized, chances are you aren’t getting anything done.
Real integrity stays in place whether the test in adversity or prosperity.
People are far more important than rigid rules and demanding expectations.
Christlikeness is a journey, not a destination. The joy is in the journey.
Excellence-moral, ethical, personal excellence-is worth whatever it costs.
Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.
The decision to give ourselves to others is a daily taking up of the cross.
Prejudice is a learned trait. You’re not born prejudiced; you’re taught it.
Faith itself cannot accomplish anything, yet without faith, no one can fly.
On tough days, you gotta have heart. Don’t quit, whatever you do. Persevere.
Of all the things God created, I am often most grateful He created laughter.
Man is the only animal that when you pat him on the head, his head swells up.
People who soar, are those who refuse to sit back and wish things would change
You can choose to be a drag and a burden, or an inspiration and encouragement.
Leaders need to cultivate two things: a righteous heart and a rhinoceros skin.
Trusting God doesn’t alter our circumstances. Perfect trust in Him changes us.
I don’t have to explain or defend the will of God. My job is simply to obey it.
Alleged ‘impossibilities’ are opportunities for our capacities to be stretched.
Laughter is the most beautiful and beneficial therapy God ever granted humanity.
One of the problems with worry is that it keeps you from enjoying what you have.
Only grace-large doses, frequently displayed, released-will restore the wounded.
The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.
There are times we need to tell ourselves, “Good job!” when we know that is true.
Nothing is so common as unsuccessful men with talent. They lack only determination.
One of the marks of maturity is the ability to disagree without becoming disagreeable
I let people see the cracks in my life. We can’t be phony. We’ve got to keep it real.
We want the safety of yesterday even though we know it’s not where God would have us.
A “godly” person is one who ceases to be self-centered in order to become God-centered.
10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.
When I think of vision, I have in mind the ability to see above and beyond the majority.
When we panic, we instinctively turn to our own internal resources because we doubt Him.
One essential ingredient for being an original in the day of copies is courageous vision.
I am a preacher. I’m involved in many other things, but, mainly, I preach. And I love it!
Walk by faith! Stop the plague of worry. Relax! Learn to say, “Lord, this is Your battle.”
Do you need strength? Peace? Wisdom? Direction? Discipline? Ask for it! God will hear you.
And when God steps in, His working is like the difference between a skyscraper and a star.
The swift wind of compromise is a lot more devastating than the sudden jolt of misfortune.
It’s not enough merely to believe there is a God. You must believe in the God who is there.
A family is a place where principles are hammered and honed on the anvil of everyday living.
People who inspire others are those who see invisible bridges at the end of dead-end streets
Vision encompasses vast vistas outside the realm of the predictable, the safe, the expected.
You won’t find God at the Seminary and you won’t find wisdom in the halls of intellectualism.
If you allow it, [suffering] can be the means by which God brings you His greatest blessings.
Our minds can be kept free of anxiety as we dump the load of our cares on the Lord in prayer.
If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters.
For there to be true maturity, people must be given room to grow, which includes room to fail.
Rejoicing is clearly a spiritual command. To ignore it, I need to remind you, is disobedience.
God never calls His people to accomplish anything without promising to supply their every need.
God has not only created each of us as distinct individuals, He also uses us in significant ways.
More often than not, when something looks like it’s the absolute end, it is really the beginning.
God is a specialist at making something useful and beautiful out of something broken and confused.
Servants must be big people. Big enough to go on, remembering the right and forgetting the wrong.
It’s a delightful thing to receive a good word just at your time of need. Encourage someone today.
Let`s choose each day and every day to keep an attitude of faith and joy and belief and compassion.
When you have vision it affects your attitude. Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic.
Allow me to offer a simple definition of wisdom. Wisdom is looking at life from God’s point of view.
The stronger the winds, the deeper the roots, and the longer the winds, the more beautiful the tree.
Only you can determine your choice of attitude. Choose wisely, choose carefully, choose confidently!
We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.
Encouragement is awesome. It (can) actually change the course of another person’s day, week, or life.
Allowing anger to seethe on the back burner will lead to a very large lid blowing off a very hot pot.
When each elder or pastor has his will aligned with the Lord’s, we waste no time arguing for our own.
What is God looking for? He is looking for men and women whose hearts are completely His – completely.
The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
There is only one you. God wanted you to be you. Don’t you dare change just because you’re outnumbered!
The best tests of my Christian growth occur in the mainstream of life, not in the quietness of my study
If God’s people are to be living examples of one thing, that thing ought to be – it must be – compassion.
The longer I live the more I believe that the greatest enemy of a victorious Christian life is passivity.
In spite of our high-tech world and efficient procedures, people remain the essential ingredient of life.
The beautiful thing about this adventure called faith is that we can count on Him never to lead us astray.
An anniversary says, “Think of the dreams you have weathered together. They are intimate accomplishments.”
Good intentions and earnest effort are not enough. Only Jesus can make an otherwise futile life productive.
We shouldn’t deny the pain of what happens in our lives. We should just refuse to focus only on the valleys.
When I have a wrong attitude, I look at life humanly. When I have a right attitude, I look at life divinely.
Like sin itself, Satan appeals to the senses. He originated and perfected the art of disguising evil as good.
If you want to be a person with a large vision, you must cultivate the habit of doing the little things well.
We aren’t just thrown on this earth like dice tossed across a table. We are lovingly placed here for a purpose
Let your life yield a sweet, winsome melody that this old world needs so desperately. Yes you can if you will.
When Christ becomes our central focus, contentment replaces our anxiety as well as our fears and insecurities.
Wouldn’t you like to contribute to an event that is part of Christ’s own prediction, “I will build my church”?
Deep, contended joy comes from a place of complete security and confidence [in God] – even in the midst of trial.
Learning more truth is a poor and cheap substitute for stopping and putting into action the truth already learned
The world has changed and it’s going to keep changing, but God never changes; so we are safe when we cling to Him.
Sometimes people can’t see past us to hear our message. We never have a second chance to leave a first impression.
Don’t get older; get better: Live realistically. Give generously. Adapt willingly. Trust fearlessly. Rejoice daily.
Acceptance is taking from God’s hand absolutely anything He gives, looking into His face in trust and thanksgiving.
If God awarded us medals, as they do in the Olympics, love would win the gold, joy the silver, and peace the bronze.
Encourage one another. Many times a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept people on their feet.
People who are close to God cultivate a personal intimacy with Him like a good gardener cultivates beautiful flowers.
There is nothing more fearful for the average person in our society than to stand before a group of people and speak.
It is a pity that many Christians have the TV schedule better memorized than a single chapter for God’s precious Word.
God seems to reward us with good, delightful experiences when we move with joy through the less-than-delightful times.
God also allows suffering so that we might learn what it means to depend on Him, not on our own strength and resources.
Stand still… and refuse to retreat. Look at it as God looks at it and draw upon His power to hold up under the blast.
It is in lonely solitude that God delivers His best thoughts, and the mind needs to be still and quiet to receive them.
I don’t see life divided into public and private, secular and sacred. It’s all an open place of service before our God.
We are often so caught up in our activities that we tend to worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.
Tell yourself right now and throughout today, that it’s okay to draw away from the maddening crowd. Jesus did; so can you.
I know of nothing more valuable, when it comes to the all-important virtue of authenticity, than simply being who you are.
We gain the ability to rejoice under pressure through a carefully monitored training program directed by the Lord Himself.
All he asks is that we trust Him, that we stand before Him in integrity and faith. God is just waiting for us to trust Him.
It’s the nature of the beast within us to keep going back to the familiar rather than to strap on faith and face the future.
Vision is the ability to see God’s presence, to perceive God‚Äôs power, to focus on God‚Äôs plan in spite of the obstacles.
This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness
Strength comes from choosing to fully trust, pray, and praise. Our circumstances may not change, but in the process we change.
Another problem with worry is that it makes you forget your worth. Worry makes you feel worthless, forgotten, and unimportant.
Hope is like an anchor. Our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life, but unlike an anchor, it does not hold us back.
There is no counsel like God’s counsel. No comfort like His comfort. No wisdom more profound than the wisdom of the Scriptures.
To require God to prove that He is able and willing to fulfill His promises would be proof positive that one does not trust Him.
The skeptic may deny your doctrine or attack your church but he cannot honestly ignore the fact that your life has been changed.
Battles are won in the trenches, in the grit and grime of courageous determination; they are won day by day in the arena of life.
Joy is a deeply felt contentment that transcends difficult circumstances and derives maximum enjoyment from every good experience.
I have no interest in returning to yesteryear. I love the conveniences and delights of today’s time. I wouldn’t go back if I could.
God often does His best work in us when He catches us by surprise and introduces a change that is completely against our own desire.
Faith is like lighting the torch that passes from one person to the next. You can’t light the torch of another if yours isn’t burning.
Consistency: It’s the jewel worth wearing; It’s the anchor worth weighing; It’s the thread worth weaving; It’s a battle worth winning.
Humility – the discipline of putting others ahead of self, the choice to value others above self – is, at its core, a matter of faith.
With vision there is no room to be frightened. No reason for intimidation. It’s time to march forward! Let’s be confident and positive!
Give us an intense distaste for things that displease You and a renewed pleasure in things that bring You honor and magnify Your truth.
When a church is spending more of its budget on media than shepherding, something is out of whack. We have gotten things twisted around.
To be used of God. Is there anything more encouraging, more fulfilling? Perhaps not, but there is something more basic: to meet with God.
Please, put aside all excuses and ask yourself, “What should I be doing?” Yes, you alone can make a difference. The question is, will you?
When God is involved, anything can happen. Be open. Stay that way. God has a beautiful way of bringing good vibrations out of broken chords.
God’s forgiveness extends to the worst offenders and to anyone who wishes to receive it-not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
Times may be hard and people may be demanding, but never forget that life is special. Every single day is a special day. God is at work in you!
Noise and crowds have a way of siphoning our energy and distracting our attention, making prayer an added chore rather than a comforting relief
Adversity is a good test of our resiliency, our ability to cope, to stand back up, to recover from misfortune. Adversity is a painful pedagogue.
Go God’s way! His is the most reliable route to follow when life gets complicated. It will have its tough moments, but you will never regret it.
Thanksgiving speaks in clear, crisp tones of forgotten terms, like integrity – bravery – respect – freedom – discipline – sacrifice – godliness.
When the Lord makes it clear you’re to follow Him in this new direction, focus fully on Him and refuse to be distracted by comparisons with others.
God’s word is tailor-made for gray-slush days. It sends a beam of light through the fog. It signals safety when we fear we’ll never make it through.
More than once Jesus deliberately addressed certain issues that quickly diminished the number of onlookers. It was commitment that thinned the ranks.
God doesn’t work on our timetable. He has a plan that He will execute perfectly and for the highest, greatest good of all, and for His ultimate glory.
…the single most important issue in all of life (is) your relationship with the living God… how you can know Him in a personal and meaningful way.
You will find a common dichotomy in life. Those who don’t have vision or determination, and refuse to dream the impossible, are always in the majority.
If the pace and the push, the noise and the crowds are getting to you, it’s time to stop the nonsense and find a place of solace to refresh your spirit
No, the thing that makes for greatness is determination, persisting in the right direction over the long haul, following your dream, staying at the task.
Any idol, regardless of its beauty or usefulness or original purpose, is to be set aside so that Christ might reign supreme, without a single competitor.
When a person does something, it has the man or woman look about it. It drips with humanity. You can follow the logic of it and see the meaning behind it.
Remorse is sorrow over being caught and the pain of consequences that follow. Repentance is not being concerned for ourselves but having a contrite heart.
I think it is important to begin with a statement in your speech that grabs the attention of the audience. I try to make my opening line 15 words or less.
[God] is able to take your life, with all of the heartache, all of the pain, all of the regret, all of the missed opportunities, and use you for His glory.
Ours is a bad, bad world, but does that mean nothing’s good? Does it mean we have run out of things for which to be grateful? No, no, a thousand times, no!
I’m glad . . . that Edison didn’t give up on the light bulb. That Luther refused to back down. That Michelangelo kept painting. That Lindbergh kept flying.
I have tried and I cannot find, either in scripture or in history, a strong-willed individual whom God used greatly until He allowed them to be hurt deeply.
There is plenty of television. There are plenty of talk shows. There are plenty of comedians. But there is not plenty of worship of the true and living God.
God is a specialist when the anguish is deep. His ability to heal the soul is profound…but only to those who rely on His wounded Son will experience relief.
If I ever wrote a book on preaching, it would contain three words: Preach the Word. Get rid of all the other stuff that gets you sidetracked; preach the Word.
My order of priorities reflects the level of my commitment to Christ. Whoever or whatever is in first place, if it isn’t the Lord Jesus, is in the wrong place.
Boldness in the course of a noble fight is worth the risk… If you stand on truth, you’ll only regret your timidity later, but you’ll never regret being bold.
It’s easy to get attached to idols, good things inappropriately adored. But when you have Jesus in the centre of a room, everything else only junks up the decor.
Faith does not change my circumstances; faith changes me. Faith may not bring in the tuition check when I need it, but faith will give me what it takes to hang on.
God has somehow placed into Christian’s insides a special something, that extra inner reservoir of power that is more than a match for the stuff life throws at us.
Worry is assuming responsibilities that you cannot handle. They truth is, they are responsibilities that God never intended for you to handle, because they are His.
How important is the heart! It is there that character is formed. It alone holds the secrets of true success. It’s treasures are priceless – but they can be stolen.
Part of the thrill of guiding children into adulthood is the release. But it’s also a parent’s greatest act of surrender. Still, you have to let them go. Start now.
We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Our attitude is everything.
God alone is perfectly and consistently just. We forget; God remembers. We see an action; God sees a motive. This qualifies Him as the best recordkeeper and judge.
While I wholeheartedly believe in choosing to approach every challenge with a great attitude, I don’t mean that we should abandon authenticity and live in fantasyland.
Grace releases and affirms. It doesn’t smother. Grace values the dignity of individuals. It doesn’t destroy. Grace supports and encourages. It isn’t jealous or suspicious.
I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.
Thanksgiving is a time of quiet reflection; an annual reminder that God has, again, been ever so faithful. The solid and simple things of life are brought into clear focus.
I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude… When my attitudes are right theres no challenge too great for me.
If you are having difficulty loving or relating to an individual, take him to God. Bother the Lord with this person. Don’t you be bothered with him – leave him at the throne.
I know of no realm of life that can provide more companionship in a lonely world or greater feelings of security and purpose in chaotic times than the close ties of a family.
Hope doesn’t require a massive chain where heavy links of logic hold it together. A thin wire will do…just strong enough to get us through the night until the winds die down.
Authentic men aren’t afraid to show affection, release their feelings, hug their children, cry when they’re sad, admit it when they’re wrong, and ask for help when they need it.
When you are giving people the gospel, you are giving them something to believe, and you have to set the stage for that. You don’t just drive up and dump the truck and drive off.
Not once does the Bible report that (Jesus) rushed anywhere. He was often busy, but never in a mad dash. And yet He perfectly accomplished all the Father designed for Him to do.
The Lord delights to surprise us with His goodness, if only we will unlock the door of obedience with the key of faith – which He has given – and then push it open and walk through.
If you only knew what God had to take me through to get me to the place where he could use me to be a blessing to other people, I doubt whether you would be willing to pay the price.
No one is immune to temptation. Not even a hero. Not even a nobody. Not even people like you and me. Lust is never very far away. And just when you least expect it, there it is again.
The happiest people I know are the ones who have learned how to hold everything loosely and have given the worrisome, stress-filled, fearful details of their lives into God’s keeping.
Love has been called the most effective motivational force in all the world. When love is at work in us, it is remarkable how giving and forgiving, understanding and tolerant we can be.
…when you trust the Lord God to give you the next step, when you wait in humility upon Him, *He* will open the doors or close them, and you’ll get to rest and relax until He says, ‘Go.
Sometimes we are to guard our heart…protect it from invasion and keep things safe and secure. Sometimes we should give our heart… let certain qualities out and release them to others
When we attempt to find meaning in the pursuit of pleasure, the commitment to a job, or through plumbing intellectual depths, we all eventually find in each of these pursuits a dead end.
Some folks serve the almighty dollar far more faithfully than the Almighty God. They get greater delight out of balancing the budget than watching the Lord multiply the loaves and fishes.
The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast, the pangs of life will sting for a while longer, but don’t worry; the forces of evil are breathing their last. Not to worry…He’s risen!
I’m not against screens, or new songs, or innovation. I just don’t like the gimmicks. I want to know when worship is over that that leader’s sole purpose was to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our identity as Christians is strengthened as we stand in the lengthening shadows of saints down through the centuries, who have always answered back in antiphonal voice: ‘He is risen, indeed!’
We want a crowd to make us feel important and liked. But why is getting a crowd our focus? Jesus never suggested that crowds were the goal. He never addresses getting your church to grow. Never.
The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it’s a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free.
It’s the most exciting thing to watch God work when I’ve asked him about something, to listen to him and watch him work. It’s like this friendship, and it just grows and grows and grows and grows.
Discipline is training that corrects and perfects our mental faculties or molds our moral character. Discipline is control gained by enforced obedience. It is the deliberate cultivation of inner order.
Home is the bottom line of life, the anvil upon which attitudes and convictions are hammered out the single most influential force in our earthly existence. No price tag can adequately reflect its value.
One of my great goals in life is to live long enough to where I am in the pulpit, preaching my heart out, and I die on the spot, my chin hits the pulpit – boom! – and I’m down and out. What a way to die!
You and I can become so dedicated to the will of God, we can be so driven by a false sense of purpose, that we might inadvertently take matters into our own hands and leave God completely out of the loop.
Dream big . . . don’t let anybody or anything break your wishbone. Stay strong, full of faith, and courageous… keep that backbone straight. And along the way, don’t forget to laugh and enjoy the journey.
..as God intended it enables us to live above the drag of fear, superstition, shame, pessimism, guilt, anxiety, worry, and all the negativity that keeps people from seizing each day as a gift from Him.
When you accept the fact that sometimes seasons are dry and times are hard and that God is in control of both, you will discover a sense of divine refuge, because the hope then is in God and not in yourself.
We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
That’s what this thing called Christian life is all about, isn’t it. Going . . . yet not knowing. As followers of our Lord we believe He leads us in a certain direction . . . or in pursuit of a precise goal.
Next time you’re faced with a credit-purchase decision, wait. Don’t say no necessarily. Just wait. I challenge you to present your need to the Lord before presenting it to a bank, and see what He does with it.
I’m here today to warn you: I want you to watch out for the adversary. Guard yourself from any spirit of entitlement. Restrain any and all subtle temptation to gain attention or to find ways to promote yourself.
When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you’re right in the center of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.
Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.
Without a quest, life is quickly reduced to bleak black and wimpy white, a diet too bland to get anybody out of bed in the morning. A quest fuels our fire. It refuses to let us drift downstream gathering debris.
Today is unique! It has never occurred and it will never be repeated. At midnight it will end, quietly, suddenly, totally. Forever. But the hours between now and then are opportunities with eternal possibilities.
Make a plan now to keep a daily appointment with God. The enemy is going to tell you to set it aside, but you must carve out the time. If you’re too busy to meet with the Lord, friend, then you are simply too busy
You see, when we talk about perfect trust, we’re talking about what gives us roots, character, the stability to handle the hard times. Trusting God doesn’t alter our circumstances. Perfect trust in Him changes us.
If our perfect Lord is gracious enough to take our worst, and ugliest, our most boring, our least successful, and forgive them, burying them in the depths of the sea, then it’s high time we give each other a break.
When you pray, pray so that you may know Him. When you seek to simplify, do it as a means of knowing Him more. When you surrender, or behave with humility or sacrifice, do it with the sole purpose in mind to know Him.
Intriguing word. It literally means, “to be divided” or “distracted.” It conveys the idea of being so mentally ill at ease that you cannot do what you need to do because you are so distracted in your thinking.
The crisis of physical hunger is essentially a crisis of faith. What or whom will you trust to meet your most basic needs? Will you trust the God who made human bodies, or will you seek your own way? (Deuteronomy 8:1-3)
Things will happen that seem to be totally contradictory, but these are God’s arrangements. It was a wonderful day when I finally realized I don’t have to explained or defend the will of God. My job is simply to obey it.
Have you ever studied Jesus’s approach to talking with people? He didn’t always fill the space with answers for them. Let’s learn to do that with our fellow learners. Let’s give them room to think and answer for themselves.
Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hopes. When my attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.
“Do not lean on your own understanding.” That means don’t bring in the crutches and lean on them, those crutches that you have designed and made to handle such situations. Stay away from them. Don’t lean on them; lean on God.
A story without context is like a diamond without a mounting. The stone may be beautiful lying loose on a table, but when it is carefully mounted in the right setting it can dazzle you with its brilliance and sparkling beauty.
Nothing is more bothersome to me than retiring. Weird things happen when you disengage; first you get negative, then you start telling people about your latest surgeries, and eventually you lose touch. I want to stay in touch.
The habit of always putting off an experience until you can afford it, or until the time is right, or until you know how to do it is one of the greatest burglars of joy. Be deliberate, but once you’ve made up your mind -jump in.
There can be no more reliable authority on earth than God’s Word, the Bible. This timeless, trustworthy source of truth holds the key that unlocks life’s mysteries. It alone provides us with the shelter we need in times of storm.
As far back as I can remember, my mother would have me down by the bed at night with her, praying. I can still hear her voice calling my name to God and telling him that she wanted me to follow him in whatever he called me to do.
Jesus’ plan called for action, and how He expressed it predicted its success. He didn’t say “you ‘might’ be my witnesses,” or “you ‘could’ be my witnesses,” or even “you ‘should’ be my witnesses.” He said “you ‘WILL’ be my witnesses.
When we arrive at dilemmas in life and we are unable to decipher the right direction to go, if we hope to maintain our confidence in the process, we must (repeat must) allow the Lord to be our Guide, our Strength, our Wisdom – our all!
Peter must have thought, “Who am I compared to Mr. Faithfulness (John)?” But Jesus clarified the issue. John was responsible for John. Peter was responsible for Peter. And each had only one command to heed: “Follow Me.” (John 21:20-22)
While I was raised around churches and had gotten to know a few preachers fairly well, the thought never entered my head that I would one day stand and deliver. Not only was I not interested, I lived with a major struggle: I stuttered.
If we choose to be offended when we don’t get our own way. Then we’re going to live constantly on the edge of anger. But if we say to ourselves, “” A merry heart does good like a medicine,”” It’ll make all the difference in the world.”
God does not dispense strength and encouragement like a druggist fills your prescription. The Lord doesn’t promise to give us something to take so we can handle our weary moments. He promises us Himself. That is all. And that is enough.
It takes faith to find personal significance in your relationship with God rather than how much money you earn, how beautiful you look, how many toys you own, how many trophies you collect, or how much territory you conquer and control.
Don’t expect wisdom to come into your life like great chunks of rock on a conveyor belt. Wisdom comes privately from God as a byproduct of right decisions, godly reactions, and the application of spiritual principles to daily circumstances.
We can’t solve modern problems by going back in time. Retreating to the safety of the familiar is an understandable response, but God has called us to a life of faith. And faith requires us to face the unknown while trusting Him completely.
If we want the advantages of love, then we must be willing to take the risks of love. And that requires vulnerability. Of course, we can refuse this path and trod another one devoid of openness. But the toll on such a road is extremely high.
Encouragement is awesome. Think about it. It has the capacity to lift a man’s or a woman’s shoulders. To breathe fresh air into the fading embers of a smoldering dream. To actually change the course of another human being’s day, week, or life.
The size of a challenge should never be measured by what we have to offer. It will never be enough. Furthermore, provision is God’s responsibility, not ours. We are merely called to commit what we have – even if it’s no more than a sack lunch.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent of how I react to it. And so it is with you. we are in charge of our attitudes.
We continually encounter hardships. People disappoint us. We disappoint ourselves. But God is constant and compassionate. We are not alone. He cares. Against all reason, the transcendent God loves us so much that He has committed Himself to us.
God never asked us to meet life’s pressures and demands on our own terms or by relying upon our own strength. Nor did He demands that we win His favor by assembling an impressive portfolio of good deeds. Instead, He invites us to enter His rest.
It is easy for Christians to have the false impression that once we have established a relationship with Christ, which we believe sets us right with God, the problems of life will somehow scoot away or they will slowly be removed from our lives.
Sometimes I wake up before dawn, and I love sitting up in the middle of the bed with all the lights off, pitch-black dark, and talking to the Father, with no interruptions and nothing that reminds me that there’s anything in life but me and Him.
Every one of us can blame somebody for something that has happened in our lives. But don’t waste your time. What we need most is a steady stream of love flowing among us. Love that quickly forgives, willingly overlooks, and refuses to take offense.
Many seducers clutter the simple message of the gospel with legalistic additions, with convoluted attempts to legitimize moral compromise, and with psychological theories that turn churches into relational support groups instead of houses of worship.
In spite of the extent to which Solomon went to find happiness, because he left God out of the picture, nothing satisfied. It never will. Satisfaction in life will never occur until there is a meaningful connection with the living Lord above the sun.
We must cease striving and trust God to provide what He thinks is best and in whatever time He chooses to make it available. But this kind of trusting doesn’t come naturally. It’s a spiritual crisis of the will in which we must choose to exercise faith.
Focusing intently on Christ naturally results in a lifestyle of increasingly greater selflessness. And it has another benefit. Gazing on Christ gives us greater ability to look past life’s trials and remain calm in the midst of what others would call chaos.
‘We really shouldn’t look like a church.’ I’ve heard that so much I want to vomit. ‘Why?’ I ask. ‘Do you want your bank to look like a bank? Do you want your doctor’s office to look like a doctor’s office, or would you prefer your doctor to dress like a clown?’
Jesus kept it simple. The lesson wasn’t complicated. ‘I speak; you believe My word; your son will be fine.’ We complicate what God has made simple by seeing the world through human eyes. We want to see in order to believe and presume that our limitations are His.
Prayer is an investment. The time you dedicate to prayer isn’t lost; it will return dividends far greater than what a few moments spent on a task ever could. If we fail to cultivate this discipline, prayer winds up being our last resort rather than our first response.
Because God gave you your makeup and superintended every moment of your past, including all the hardship, pain, and struggles, He wants to use your words in a unique manner. No one else can speak through your vocal cords, and, equally important, no one else has your story.
Envy is one of the great enemies of active spirituality. It keeps us from loving our neighbours, from functioning with others in community, and from affirming people’s unique worth. It also steals contentment from the heart. Is there anything or anyone you are envious of?
Honesty has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it. No ulterior motives. No hidden meanings. An absence of hypocrisy, duplicity, political games, and verbal superficiality. As honesty and real integrity characterize our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others.
I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.
God has called His creation to find satisfaction in a personal relationship with Him, and stop trying to manage the world by conforming it to our expectations, and to allow Him to govern His creation. He continues to say through an ancient Hebrew worship song, “Be still and know that I am God!
God will never adjust His agenda to fit ours. He will not speed up His pace to catch up with ours; we need to slow our pace in order to recover our walk with Him. God will not scream and shout over the noisy clamor; He expects us to seek quietness, where His still small voice can be heard again.
Precious few are those who can live in the lap of luxury … who can keep their moral, spiritual and financial equilibrium … while balancing on the elevated tightrope of success. … there is about one in a hundred who can dance to the tune of success without paying the piper named Compromise.
It has come to the time where the most dangerous place to be in America is not the inner city, where gangs threaten innocent lives, or in angry prisons, where only the fit survive, but in the womb of a mother who is being told that if she doesn’t really want the baby, an abortion is the solution.
When you have a sense of calling, whether it’s to be a musician, soloist, artist, in one of the technical fields, or a plumber, there is something deep and enriching when you realize it isn’t just a casual choice, it’s a divine calling. It’s not limited to vocational Christian service by any means.
The Promised Land was a tangible representation of God’s ultimate desire for His people, but they failed to comprehend His gift for at least three reasons: It was unconditionally promised, it was outrageously generous, and it was absolutely free. None of those make sense in the world as we know it.
In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest. All He asks is that we come to Him…that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him – totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence.
Wisdom is looking at life from God’s point of view. You look at life’s difficulties and tests as God looks at them. You look at family life and child rearing as God looks at them. You interpret current events as God would interpret them. You see the truth even though all around you are deception and lies.
Jesus never commanded believers to produce fruit. Fruit is the purpose of the branch, but it is not the responsibility of the branch. The branch cannot produce anything on it’s own. However, if it remains attached to the vine, it will receive life-sustaining sap, nourishment, strength, everything it needs.
In the wilderness, God’s covenant people struggled with a choice between feeding their bellies and nourishing their souls. God provided manna-a breadlike food that fell to the ground during the night-to sustain the wandering Israelites and to teach them how to value His Word more than physical fulfillment.
Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobody’s looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you’re misunderstood.
People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life’s circumstances to push them down and hold them under.
While God is not the author of evil and He never prompts or condones sin, nothing occurs without His sovereign oversight. Others may choose to do evil deeds and God’s people may suffer in the short term, but He will transform the evil intentions of evil people into opportunities for the enrichment of those in His care.
You and I are, by birth, by nature, and by choice, inwardly depraved, which is to say that we are entirely corrupt. That’s not to say that we have no good in us; we do. However, anything good in us has been tainted with evil. It touches everything. Without the redeeming power of Christ we cannot halt our own moral slide.
At least one indication of unbelief is the tendency to measure life’s challenges against our own adequacy instead of God’s promises. To enter our Sabbath rest, we must put an end to self-reliance – trusting in our own abilities to overcome difficulties, rise above challenges, escape tragedies, or achieve personal greatness.
Someone has said,”Education is going from an unconscious to conscious awareness of one’s ignorance.”..No one has a corner on wisdom. All the name-dropping in the world does not heighten the significance of our character. If anything, it reduces it. Our acute need is to cultivate a willingness to learn and to remain teachable.
Your call will become clear as as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God’s Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns from diverting your attention.
Just as bank tellers need a thorough knowledge of legitimate currency in order to spot counterfeit bills, so Christians need a thorough knowledge of the Bible in order to spot bogus religious teachings. How grounded are you in the Scriptures? How deep are your theological roots? How capable are you of detecting false teachings?
Fortunately, God made all varieties of people with a wide variety of interests and abilities. He has called people of every race and color who have been hurt by life in every manner imaginable. Even the scars of past abuse and injury can be the means of bringing healing to another. What wonderful opportunities to make disciples!
Cultivate your own capabilities, your own style. Appreciate the members of your family for who they are, even though their outlook or style may be miles different from yours. Rabbits don’t fly. Eagles don’t swim. Ducks look funny trying to climb. Squirrels don’t have feathers. Stop comparing. There’s plenty of room in the forest.
If you’re running a 26-mile marathon, remember that every mile is run one step at a time. If you are writing a book, do it one page at a time. If you’re trying to master a new language, try it one word at a time. There are 365 days in the average year. Divide any project by 365 and you’ll find that no job is all that intimidating.
The pursuit of happiness is a matter of choice…it is a positive attitude we choose to express. It is not a gift delivered to our door each morning, nor does it come through the window. And it is certain that our circumstances are not the things that make us joyful. If we wait for them to get just right, we will never laugh again.
Jesus has prepared the way and has made following our destiny possible, whereas we are helpless by ourselves. We can find and fulfill our purpose by responding to the clear, simple call of Jesus Christ: “Follow Me.” He is the doorway to fulfilling our destiny, where our divine design and God-ordained purpose live in perfect harmony.
The secret to responsible trust is acceptance. Acceptance is taking from God’s hand absolutely anything He gives, looking into His face in trust and thanksgiving, knowing that the confinement of the hedge we’re in is good and for His glory. Even though what we’re enduring may be painful, it’s good simply because God Himself has allowed it.
To be used of God. Is there anything more encouraging, more fulfilling? Perhaps not, but there is something more basic: to meet with God. To linger in His presence, to shut out the noise of the city and, in quietness, give Him the praise He deserves. Before we engage ourselves in His work, let’s meet Him in His Word… in prayer… in worship.
Choose to view life through God’s eyes. This will not be easy because it doesn’t come naturally to us. We cannot do this on our own. We have to allow God to elevate our vantage point. Start by reading His Word, the Bible…Pray and ask God to transform your thinking. Let Him do what you cannot. Ask Him to give you an eternal, divine perspective.
Fortunately Jesus didn’t leave [the disciples]-or any of us-without hope or direction. Where we fail, Jesus succeeded. The only One who as able to recognize and follow His purpose from the beginning was Jesus. He alone was able to obey consistently and please God completely. And His divine mission was to make a way for each of us to do the same.
Our great tendency in this age is to increase our speed, to run faster, even in the Christian life. In the process our walk with God stays shallow, and our tank runs low on fumes. Intimacy offers a full tank of fuel that can only be found by pulling up closer to God, which requires taking necessary time and going to the effort to make that happen.
There is an enormous difference between growing old in the Lord and growing up in Him. One is automatic and requires no effort at all … just aging. But the other is never automatic, or easy. It calls for personal discipline, continual determination, and spiritual desire. Churches are full of sleepy saints who are merely ‘logging time’ in God’s family.
So, you want to be like Christ? Me too. But that kind of godliness won’t just happen by hanging around a church or thinking lofty thoughts three or four times a day or learning a few verses of Scripture. It will take more – much more. Disciplining ourselves will require the same kind of focused thinking and living that our Master modeled during His brief life on earth.
I am convinced that wise planning is good. But plans, like material possessions, must always be held loosely. Yes – always! Plan wisely, but be ready for God to rearrange things and take you along paths that may feel dangerous to you. Don’t sweat it; He knows what He’s doing. And He isn’t obligated to inform you … or request permission to upset your neat little agenda!
The longer I live the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company . . . a church . . . a home.
Jesus didn’t come to earth to establish a new religion. He came to restore a broken relationship. He came to make the primary, primary again. The secondary activity of obedience to the law of God was always intended to serve the primary activity: to love God and enjoy Him forever. When that is primary, the secondary becomes a labor of love, a joyful, and “easy” burden to bear. (Matthew 11:28-30
God would love to piece together the shattered fragments of your life. But He is waiting … graciously waiting until the time is right. Until you are tired of the life you are living … until you see it for what it really is. Until you are weary of coping … of taking charge of your own life … until you realize the mess you are making of it. Until you recognize your need for Him … He’s waiting.
From the tiny birds of the air and from the fragile lilies of the field, we learn the same truth, which is so important for those who desire to live a life of simple faith: God takes care of His own. He knows our needs. He anticipates our crises. He is moved by our weaknesses. He stands ready to come to our rescue. And at just the right moment, He steps in and proves Himself as our faithful heavenly Father.
Focus on your marriage. Because that’s the nucleus of the home, whatever you do to restore its health and strength will naturally restore what’s broken among the other relationships. If you have no children yet, this will make a comfortable nest for them to begin life well. If you have children, the changes you make in your marriage will affect the rest of the household more quickly and dramatically than you think.
You may be going through a trial so overwhelming that it’s borderline unbearable. You want to see the end of the tunnel. Which is only natural, because once we see that little speck of light, we feel we can make it through to the finish. But God’s tunnels are often twisting, too complex and dark to see the light for many days. In such settings He says, “In that dark, twisting, seemingly endless period of time, trust Me. Stop running scared! Stop fearing!”
The benefits [of the resurrection] are innumerable. To list a few: Our illnesses don’t seem nearly so final; Our fears fade and lose their grip; Our grief over those who have gone on is diminished; Our desires to press on in spite of the obstacles is rejuvenated… Our identity as Christians is strengthened as we stand in the lengthening shadows of saints down through the centuries, who have always answered back in antiphonal voice: ‘He is risen, indeed!’
Grace has to be the loveliest word in the English language. It embodies almost every attractive quality we hope to find in others. Grace is a gift of the humble to the humiliated. Grace acknowledges the ugliness of sin by choosing to see beyond it. Grace accepts a person as someone worthy of kindness despite whatever grime or hard-shell casing keeps him or her separated from the rest of the world. Grace is a gift of tender mercy when it makes the least sense.
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to do and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry because it was Everybody‚Äôs job. Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn‚Äôt do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
What sets Christian spiritual activity apart from all other religions is that they have knowledge of Christ as their goal; not moral perfection (although you will become more moral), not tranquility (although your life will be remarkably more peaceful). And because of the grace you have in Christ, the disciplines will do nothing to make you more accepted by the Father. You cannot be more accepted than you already are in Christ, since He has already done it all for you!
You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here’s how – guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality. Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do’s and don’ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately… yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it – emotional and spiritual damage will occur.
To be “in Christ” is to place one’s trust in Him for salvation from sin. To be “in Christ” is to trust His goodness, not our own; to trust that His sacrificial death on the cross paid the complete debt of death we owe for our sin; to trust that His resurrection gives us eternal life instead of relying upon our own ability to please God. To be “in Christ” is to claim, by faith, the free gift of salvation. To be “in Christ” is to enjoy a completely restored relationship with our Father in heaven by virtue of His Son’s righteous standing.
In our rough and rugged individualism, we think of gentleness as weakness, being soft and virtually spineless. Not so! Gentleness includes such enviable qualities as having strength under control, being calm and peaceful when surrounded by a heated atmosphere, emitting a soothing effect on those who may be angry or otherwise beside themselves, and possessing tact and gracious courtesy that causes others to retain their self-esteem and dignity. Instead of losing, the gentle gain. Instead of being ripped off and taken advantage of, they come out ahead!
Because the Holy Spirit is God, we feel Him as He controls our circumstances and transforms our lives. When He does that, He uses us. He melts us in relationships. He molds us in the pursuit and the direction of His will. He fills us with power and the perseverance to keep at it. He uses as He controls our circumstances and transforms our lives. Ask the Spirit of God to use you, just as you are, with the gifts and abilities that He’s given you. Secure in the confidence that God is in control of your life, you will be free to serve Him with joy and effectiveness.
You see, this people [Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, etc.] simply believed that God existed in the situation they were faced with, and they trusted Him rather than themselves. The result? God said, “That pleases Me.” They were men and women just like you and I, which is the most encouraging part of all. We don’t find golden haloes, or perfect backgrounds, or sinless lives, we just find people. People who failed, who struggled, who doubted, who experienced hard times and low times in which their faith was eclipsed by doubt. But their lives were basically characterized by faith.

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