Leadership is far different than a boss, Leadership leads by example, A boss delegates tasks. Leadership gets things done, whenever you get something done, you influence leadership - influences Leadership is an act of love, Love by doing - attempting to do the right thing Leaders don't look at others for validation. Main 7 leadership principles 1) Identification 2) Clarification 3) Motivation 4) Collaboration 5) Concentration 6) Meditation 7) Relaxation Leadership Identification - Know who you are - self awareness, know your strengths and weaknesses. Leadership Clarification - Know what you want to accomplish, this simple choice frees you from the tyranny of the urgent Leadership Motivation - Know whom you are trying to please you cannot please everybody, even God cannot please everybody. Leadership Collaboration - Work with a small group, work with a team of people. Leadership Concentration - Focus on what is important Distraction is the greatest enemy of leadership Jesus refused to be distracted. Leadership Meditation - listen to God continually, Get alone to pray, Read daily about God. Leadership Relaxation - Take time to recharge. God has a plan for your life, and so does everyone else, if you don't know who you are, You will be trapped by other's expectations. Stress happens if you are trying to be something you are not, uncomfortable in you're own skin. Copying and comparing limits your ability to be you. You will always find someone better and get discouraged, and you will always find someone worse and get prideful. If you are going to be a leader you have to accept being who you are. Whenever you honesty criticize someone with a negative, you need to add a positive at the end to show you love them. How do you turn activity into productivity? Finding its purpose.. Leadership is the art of disappointment, if you say YES to something, you have to say NO to more to others. Jesus - lived for an audience of one, No one can serve two masters. If you wrestle with a pig, you both will get muddy, but only one of you will like it. You don't have to reply to every comment. Criticism is like gum, you chew on it for while and then spit it out. You don't need others approval to be happy, All you need is God's. No one can pressure you without your permission, you know whom you are trying to please. God please show me how may I please you and bring you glory. He that leadith and has no one following him, is only taking a walk. Connect with someone in your small group, a growth partner. God never blessed a one-person show. We don't accept the help of others, because of the insecurity and pride. You always need a battle buddy, that can carry off the field when you get hurt. Jesus did the cross with an iron will, no distractions, how should you look at your goals? Anyone who lets himself get distracted, falls on his face. Temptation - the idea of distraction Inspiration - the idea of direction. Leadership is getting together with people, leaders need time alone to pray. Most of life's problems come from your inability to sit still. The single biggest stress in your life, is when you are disconnected from God - resentment, loneliness etc. comes into your life. Life is a marathon - you need to pace yourself, you need to take vacations to recharge. Rest and recreation, Every 7th day you rest, remember it first up there with don't murder, covet, and commit adultery. Life is meant to be enjoyed - not endured. You have to schedule time off. Success of leadership depends on Divert daily - little fun (hobby) Withdraw daily - Take a day off, away from the world. Abandon annually - a vacation. Distraction is the greatest enemy of leadership. If I had unlimited ability I would be a river helping anyone in needed, Since, I don't, I am a little drip helping anyone I can. EWB What defines a person is inside, not from outside influence, outside influence just lets them be more or less of what they are on the inside. EWB Things greatly simplify and input gets organized when I ask the simple question of who is Lord in my life. EWB Maybe God puts difficult people in your life so you can learn to love them with God's strength and not your own. EWB People get angry when their personal boundaries have been violated. There are two reason, (1) they put unrealistic boundaries in their life, or (2) they put good personal boundaries in place and they need to learn how to respond the situation and not react. EWB Personal boundaries are mental borders that create a separation from you and your environment, demonstrating the knowledge that you are your own entity. EWB A person without boundaries is like a city with broke walls without any defenses. EWB It's not if you win or loose the game, It's how you play it. SpyKids3D Pain that will hurt me and not harm me is good. It is a drop of kindness even though it is hard to cherish in the immediate because it hits you. EWB It's not always possible to learn from others, there are times you have to learn from your mistakes. It makes you appreciate others more and the wealth of information they give you. EWB Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk, time, and effort. Or in other words persistence and purpose. EWB When you lose, don't lose the lesson. The point of imperfection is to learn. EWB Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck, all things are father filtered. EWB Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship. Relationships last forever, spats last for a drip in time. EWB Open arms to change, but don't let go of your values. God centered values are what hold your life up because they do not change. EWB Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer, or the best way say what needs to be said. EWB Living with a purpose, as you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. EWB A least once a year, go someplace you've never been before, or do something you have not ever done before. It opens the mind and feeds the soul. EWB Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. Heavenly love is the act of giving without wanting anything in return. EWB Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. For God so loved us he gave up his son to heal our mortal sickness of sin so we can humble ourselves and put on immortality and be his sons and daughters. EWB Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon. Dalai Lama The lowest ebb of morality is when people view things as to what is right in their own eyes. They give up on the truth for might makes right and the ends justify the means. EWB When You Hear Something - You Forget It, When You See Something - You Remember It, When You Do Something - You Understand It! - Chinese Proverb True intimacy is only built on the freedom to disagree. EWB Boundary injured people are like slaves of a weak conscience, growth comes from practicing to say "NO". EWB The goal of boundaries is maturity, the ability to love successfully and work successfully. EWB When teaching kids you can go two directions: 1) Say yes to everything and then find out as you go say "NO" causing resentment and rebellion. 2) Put strict boundaries in place and then loosen up a bit and they will love you. EWB Setting Boundaries is an act of stewardship. EWB When climbing the ladder of life you need to take your hands out of your pockets. Mike Clark - M&M Painters Don't get mad, Set a limit. EWB When you react, they are in control, when you respond, you are in control. EWB Be yourself, for this is what you are best qualified for. EWB If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, If you sow to the spirit, you will reap eternal life from the sprit. unknown Preacher The ultimate power is the ability to control it. EWB Real Power is not to react, but to commit and focus your power for a purpose. EWB Failing to try is the death of learning. EWB Failing and trying again, is how you learn. EWB First pride, then the crash- the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. Rick Warren EGO --> Edging God Out Rick Warren Give people what they need, not what they deserve. Rick Warren When you are proud of yourself, it is because you did it with your own power, Not God's. Rick Warren Selfishness destroys relationships. Rick Warren Self-Less-ness builds relationships. Rick Warren Pride destroys relationships. Rick Warren Humility builds relationships. Rick Warren Insecurity destroys relationships. Rick Warren Love builds relationships. Rick Warren Resentment destroys relationships. Rick Warren Forgiveness builds relationships. Rick Warren Control issues are caused by fear of being intimacy. Rick Warren Insecurity prevents intimacy. Rick Warren Don't join a perfect church, because it won't be perfect any more. Rick Warren You are only as sick as your secrets. Rick Warren If there is a God, why is there so much evil in the world? For there is Good in the world because of God, A world without God, would have no Good within it. EWB God longs for you to discover the life he created you to live - here on earth, and forever in eternity! Rick Warren Community is God's answer to loneliness. Rick Warren Community is God's answer to fatigue. Rick Warren You can't grow without other people in your life. Rick Warren Community is God's answer to defeat. Rick Warren Community is God's answer to despair. Rick Warren God's answer to fear is community. Rick Warren Why we need each other 1) to walk with me 2) to work with me 3) to watch out for me 4) to wait and weep with me 5) to witness with me Rick Warren When you run alone you run fast, when you run with others, your run long. Rick Warren You will burn out in life if you don't have close friends to support you. Rick Warren What the world needs now is love! Rick Warren The reason you're exhausted is that you are trying to do it yourself. Rick Warren Snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them stick together, they can stop traffic. Rick Warren "The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it." - John Jay, Castilian Days II, 1872 It is easier for God to steer a car that is already moving, than one sitting still. Rick Warren The worlds priorities 1) Power(Prestige & Popularity) 2) Pleasure (Lust) 3) Possessions (Pride) Moses' Priorities 1) Purpose is more important than popularity 2) People are more important than Pleasures 3) Peace is more important than possessions Rick Warren The secret of Success is PERSISTANCE. The secret of persistence is VISION AND PURPOSE. Rick Warren Your vision determines your values Rick Warren I refuse to live a lie, and not be who God want wants me to be. Rick Warren No one can ruin your life without your permission. Rick Warren Blame is another word for being lame or B-LAME. Rick Warren Leaders lead by example. Rick Warren To be a leader you must: 1) Know who you are, accept your unique identity 2) You must accept responsibility 3) You must set priorities 4) You must focus on the eternity of your action Rick Warren You are what you believe, You believe who you are, You act according to how you believe, You think according to how you believe, You see according to how you believe, You hear according to how you believe, You smile according to how you believe, You can change you state accordingly, You can change according to how you believe, You are that which you are! Free to choose.... EWB It is the purposes of the creator within us that makes us powerful, Not our purpose to do something for him. EWB We cannot master everything, for that distinguishes us from the creator. EWB To them who can master themselves, is better than those that can run a country. EWB Zip the lip and stay out of trouble! EWB Better is a frozen dinner with love, than a four course meal with wine and contention. EWB Wisdom can save your life and many others, Money can only buy one if it is for sale. EWB It amazing how much one can see with the ears. EWB There are only two things you can take with you from earth. What you have learned and the relationships you have. And the nice thing you don't need to worry about a u-haul. EWB Christians see the world a little different than the norm. They see the Holy Spirit bringing perfection from God into man and thereby being a direct creation of God, or sons of God. They see the conquering of the sickness of sin and death as an ultimate humbling of oneself that they are not perfect, needing to understand man's predicament is so bad requiring a perfect sacrifice that the Messiah Jesus would love them so much to lay down his life for them so they may be turned from the gates of hell and judgement. Then they are to live God's instructions like father to son. Where eventually the Christian will be refined into the perfect image of God himself father like son. The essence of their God is Love itself: kindness, truth, joy, charity, patience, faithfulness, treating others as you would want to be, and more. - Unknown If the world was a perfect place, I would not be qualified to live in it. EWB In an imperfect world, you have the ability to shine brightly, in a perfect world everyone shines brightly. EWB Which has more merit, and will add to community? Having people who choose wisely and justly-some better than others, or people who are told what to choose and when so they remain stupid. EWB God gave man the freedom to choose, anyone or organization who tries to take away that freedom, steps on the creator's toes and design. Do they not know that if man could not choose he would be a dumb robot or a tool. Maybe they should put more effort in teaching how to choose well. EWB Prayer is similar to asking for air support to an infantryman. EWB Never underestimate the power of prayer. EWB Love cannot be killed, It stands right up after being dead for three days to prove a point. It lays down its life for its friends. It demonstrates the way of life by example. It gets up when all else fails. It makes communities and intimacy. It gives us hope and a way to walk. It holds you in its arms when you cannot walk any longer. EWB Love creates things from nothing. It gives life, and nurtures it. It does not deal with scarce resources, but makes lessons with wisdom and knowledge. EWB Love puts others first, It has no pride, no arrogance, no bragging, no self-centeredness, no class structure, it sees things as they are. It is as it is. EWB The power in Love is that it does not give up. EWB Love does not guarantee success, it just gets right back up and tries again. EWB Love kills fear and enables trust and community. EWB The cause of many peoples problems is fear. EWB In negotiation, Better are kind words and sticking to the merits, than using emotional sledgehammers to attempt results. Most likely you will find yourself in the same seat the next cycle. Its better to deal with smiles than scowls. EWB We should not ask why God is punishing us for this problem that has come, But, rather seek to understand the problem and look for resources to solve it. For once one has solved the problem one can begin to understand its lessons. EWB Problems in life show us who we are, How desperate our hearts can become, Shock us to see how low we can go, To get us to change for the better. EWB Being in property management is like having a degree in baby-sitting. EWB We are blessed to be blessing others. Rick Warren When we bless others, God takes care of our needs. Rick Warren The more we bless others, the more God blesses us. Rick Warren The more we are blessed, the more is expected from us to help others. EWB One of the hardest battles is when someone does you wrong, you do them good, EWB Some people will still not like you, even if every time they meet you they are better off. EWB Some people would rather live in ignorance, than know what is really going on. EWB The best friend you have can tell it to your face. EWB Life is too short to beat around the bush, Let me have it directly good or bad and keep it simple, I am not smart enough to figure out what you mean. EWB Finding the truth is a continuous practice. EWB The Truth is more dangerous to a person who thinks he has it. EWB It took science hundreds of years to get over the bias that the world is not flat. How much time will it take the scientific community to figure out that DNA is programming code, and Quantum Mechanics are a study of a created digital universe. EWB Quantum Mechanics gives a 10 dimensional universe, 4 are knowable, 6 are smaller than 10 to the -32, Suits me right, I have ten fingers and live in 10 dimensions, EWB From Quantum Mechanics we get that time is digital, From Astronomy we get the concept of black hole, Technically a black hole is a location where time stands still, thereby disappearing from a time view, or a zero time well. EWB The higher the elevation, the slower time becomes. This is why the atomic clock in Greenwich England ticks at a faster rate than the one at a high elevation in Bolder Colorado. EWB They discovered if you send 2 synchronized cesium clocks on different planes going opposite directions around the globe one will gain time and the other will lose time proving Einstein's theory. EWB They discovered that in the center of every galaxy is a black hole, the size of the black hole is directly dependent on the size of the galaxy or the other way around. EWB Temptation starts in the head and beats on the doors of action, The more you think about resistance, the more futility of desperation, If you don't like the radio show, you don't have to listen, change the channel, don't give it the dignity of a single thought! EWB All truth is accountable to its maker and he cares for it and records it, making accountability a truth in its self. EWB The higher the cost, The smaller the percentage, The larger the revenue. EWB There is no difference in managing, Trillions, Billions, Millions and a Dollar, Just a decimal point change. EWB Observing Really Powerful People: When they are confronted...they Love When they are insulted...they Pray When they are neglected...they Encourage When they are Rejected...they Forgive When they are Applauded...they Hope EWB Life is all about control issues, There seem to be 3 kinds: 1-Letting things go out of control, 2-Trying to take control and getting frustrated, 3-Giving up the control to a higher power. EWB Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate. Tom Holladay Being gentle means power under control. Like a rocket, power directed is much more useful than an explosion on the launch pad. EWB All of us are a slave to something, Just make it a good and big something! EWB Life is the preparation for eternity. EWB The master engineer is a hilarious. He put a dog's smile on its rear end, and you can still see it! EWB The waves of love pound against us, Don't you know, it's the beat of life, It's a song that is alive, In the middle of the darkest night, Ever moving us forward with life, Pushing down walls, driving around town, Taking us a love story that is Alive! EWB Few can understand the wisdom of a poor man, A poor man has had his blinders ripped off and his character is fully exposed, He lives a life where all things and choices have incredible costs. While the rich man does not enjoy those consequences unless he is crushed. EWB A classroom is littered with small objects used to discover the meaning of huge concepts, Look for them in life, They are everywhere! EWB How do we see the between the lines, Understanding the big picture! EWB If this world is one big classroom, Why do we talk more than we listen? EWB The biggest problem between people is communication. Most people are talking when they should be listening. EWB Holding grudges and gossip is similar to Collecting other peoples trash And bringing it inside your own home. EWB Habits are the patterns for success or failure, Only you make them and you break them. EWB Secret of Success, 10% goes to charity 10% of income goes into savings, 80% is to enjoy EWB Being yourself is, Taking life as it is. EWB Success is 90% failure and 10% striking gold! EWB There is always hope, If you can still get up and try again. EWB There is a new way to life, Leaving what we knew yesterday behind, For what we discovered today. EWB Money does grow on trees, So does monopoly money, So does fire wood, So does salvation, So does construction materials, So does gum, fruit, and shade. EWB If software was like a car, When your car breaks down, you would simply turn it off, open the door, get out, and then get back in and the car would start back up. EWB Life is like an apple, Whose fruit is filled with learning and character building, And depending how it is planed, its seeds give life again after it is consumed. EWB If man was not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, why was it planted in the center of the garden? And what is with the marketing/salesman to push things along? EWB The beauty of Love is beyond my understanding, Its cost is unmeasurable and cannot be purchased, It gives abundantly without asking anything in return, Its caring tenderness and honesty take my breath, This is the one thought sends me to my knees. EWB How to you find the finger print of the creator, He would need to be outside of our time and space, Would demonstrates this to us by telling us with 100 percent accuracy the future before it happens. EWB The average man and woman lives 30,000 days, It really makes one think! EWB Logic and common sense can only take you so far, Love, Faith, and Belief require more, They bend knowledge into a single thought, That includes a simple understanding of all things. EWB You can discover more about a person, In an hour of play than hours of working. EWB Friends stand together, In fun or in heartache One picks the other up. EWB Truth is where the deed and word become one. Chuck Missler Love is the choice, Faith is a choice, Belief is a choice. EWB Free will is the most terrifying gift of all, You hold your eternal life in the palm of choice, Choose life and drink living water. EWB Finding something that does not change, Is simply worth holding on to. EWB You are what you think, You are that what you believe, You are that what you do, You are what you decide to be, You have the gift of free will. EWB Making dreams come true is an act of God, Making a change is an act of you! EWB To learn is a choice To love is a choice To live is a choice EWB We can make a change, We can make a difference, We can make this world place better place! (Popular Song) Is not true Love when one gives without requiring anything in return, Thereby love becomes so costly and precious, it is un-purchasable.... EWB If you cheat even a little, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities. EWB Like an autopilot guiding a boat. The more one moves the wheel, over time the boat returns to its heading. So are a persons habits, unless they change their auto pilot heading. EWB Like hunger tells you to go get something to eat, Worry is an internal alarm to tell you to go do something useful. EWB Worry is like digging a pit and filling it in. Just a lot of work for nothing. EWB Surfing is a business education, You have to work, look, and position to catch the wave, but once you get one it propels you without effort. EWB A baby only knows only how to take and be satisfied, Once we mature we begin to understand the riches of giving. EWB You have to look up to something or someone, Make it beyond belief or understanding. EWB Life is like finding a diamond, and then figuring out what to do with it and how much it is worth. EWB I find fascinating the books that haven't gone out of print for thousands of years, versus the technical books that are outdated before they even hit the press. EWB Success can only happen when you understand failure. EWB Success in life is finding purpose. EWB If life were about an eye for an eye, we would all be blind. EWB Until you have been forgiven, Mercy to a judge does not make sense. EWB I was told once that prayer was calling in the heavy artillery to soften up the enemy. EWB Patients is a better understanding of the big picture. EWB Be patient, sometimes it takes kids and the big kids some time before the synapse grows to where 1 and 1 make 2. EWB Even though you are upset, Don't let them or your kids know where your goat is tied. EWB A kind answer makes life go so much easier. EWB Never get between a bear robed of her cubs, or a rich man and his money. EWB If one becomes what they worship, I choose to Love, It cannot be bought and never gives up. EWB When you play monopoly you laugh at all the play money you can make, Well you don't seen a Hearst pulling a u-haul do ya! I guess life has its simple moments of use it or loose it. EWB Its simple, kill evil by doing good. EWB In navigation all things are in relationships with one another. You cannot navigate from here to there without the help of another. Well is life great or what? EWB Why am I an optimist, Well God says it will all work out in the end. EWB Be yourself, there is not time to be someone else. EWB Usually things marketed with the most noise, are the things that are deceptive. EWB Without the gift of ownership a free market economy cannot exist, Without the gift of free will love cannot exist. EWB if 90% is deemed failure and 10% deemed success, Forgiveness plays a large part in life. EWB Its great to hang around friends that sharpen your mind. It's even better to hang around friends that sharpen your life! EWB Life is not what you make it, It is all about who you know and your relationship with them. EWB The standard business strategy comes from the sport biker. Follow the leader and at the end of the race, bolt for the finish. EWB Humility is the art of learning, EWB We have but enough time to scratch the surface. EWB To learn is to understand you know nothing. EWB Pattern recognition is intense learning, It allows for math, music, and language, It is also for learning of the larger within something smaller. EWB There is nothing like a spouse, telling you the way it is when you are wrong 90% of the time. But, remember and have mercy the 10% being right is so successful it makes up for 900% being wrong. EWB Like two raging rivers joining Are two people getting married, Each going their own way till they collide, sending up a roaring and churning river flowing to smooth waters. Its an awesome site as two become one. EWB How do you find truth, Test it and test it and test it! EWB In order to understand your creator's relationship with you, you just have to get married. EWB Children have an uncanny way of getting to the truth of the matter. EWB Only two kinds of people can understand multidimential thinking, Scientists who have unlearned, and children, EWB If life were created from a simple cell structure, an organism could evolve into a different species. Well, it does not look like it was so simple, I guess, if the DNA information told the thing to evolve, well, I guess it would! EWB It took 60 years from when the Wright Bros. flew to when we landed on the moon. I wonder where we are now? EWB If quantum mechanics shows us that time is quantized or digital, what does this say about our world? EWB If scientists say the speed of light is slowing down, How does this affect carbon dating from billions of billions of years? EWB Political sighted thinking brought us a square planet and that ships could fall off the edge, It is usually not the actual boundaries that hold us in place, but the boundaries we impose on ourselves. EWB If the universe is basically empty, The planet is getting more crowded, Why don't we just spread out a bit. I wonder if it was made that way for a reason? EWB If everyone on the planet picked up a single stone and moved it, it would be the equivalent of moving Mount Everest. EWB The more a person thinks of himself, The more he has gone off the deep end! EWB It takes less time to get to Mars, than for Columbus to sail to America. EWB It's funny, The more people involved, The less common sense is involved. EWB Which came first the chicken or the egg?.... The power of information my friends, that's what its about! Jurassic Park (Dinosaur DNA) If the finger print of the maker is the ability to tell about things before they happen with complete accuracy. At times it would be nice to read ending of the book. EWB If your business plan is built on bad assumptions, It will collapse and never recover, How so different is life? EWB If man is created in the image of his Maker, Without a maker how much is man worth? EWB I once thought I knew something, I went to describe it and found that I left something out. I have been practicing since then. EWB If you want to change the world, Change yourself and the rest will follow. EWB To change how someone reacts to you, you must first change yourself and how you react to them, EWB Unless you know something you probably should keep away from the words NEVER and ALWAYS. EWB If our planet is a spinning top, if it spins too slowly we would burn up, If it spins too fast we would freeze, If it were closer to the sun we burn up, If it were farther from the sun we would freeze, Hey, who did this? I am taking names... EWB In a simulation the level of success, failure and learning, is controlled by one pressing the buttons, And life is different how? EWB Making false accusations and calling names is the last straw and a distraction from a loosing argument. EWB If within a few milliseconds a mile long DNA strand can unravel and close back up without a tangle, I have a lot of practicing to do with my garden hose. EWB If you can look at a Pepsi can and say evolution made that, You are lucky, it did not include DNA and particle physics. EWB If Angels disguise themselves in human form, I wonder how many you and I have met? EWB If you are not forgiven much, you will never know how to love much. EWB If you have a friend in need, Why do you ask what can I do for you? Just do something without asking! EWB Some days it seems I open my mouth just to change feet. EWB To love much is to be forgiven much. EWB There is no deadlier poison than Words, There is no greater healer than words. EWB If everything comes easy, So does the fall. EWB You are what you think. You are what you go for. You are what you do! Author: Bob Richards Why did I want to win? because I didn't want to lose! Author: Max Schmelling What we see depends mainly on what we look for. Author: Sir John Lubbock Experience is an asset of which no worker can be cheated, no matter how selfish or greedy his immediate employer may be. --Napolean Hill If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed Kate Halverson Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up. Robert Frost Beware of small expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship. Benjamin Franklin If you're going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill, Sir If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. Mother Teresa If someone offers you a breath mint, accept it. H. Jackson Brown, Jr. - Life's Little Treasure Book, on wisdom The best mirror is an old friend. Author: George Herbert I get by with a little help from my friends. --John Lennon A friend is one who walks in when others walk out --Walter Winchell It takes twenty years to become an overnight success. --Eddie Cantor Behind every successful person there's a lot of unsuccessful years. --Bob Brown The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. --Michael Althsuler When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us Author: Helen Keller You can't have everything, where would you put it? Author: Steven Wright The road to success is always under construction. --Unkown Example isn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach Einstein Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character Einstein Imagination is more important than knowledge. Einstein If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Einstein If A equals success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut Einstein I want to know God's thoughts...the rest are details Einstein The road to a friend's house is never long Author: Danish Proverb True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost Author: Charles Caleb Colton The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. Author: William Blake The only way to have a friend is to be one Author: Ralph Waldo Emmerson A sinning man will stop praying. A praying man will stop sinning. (Leonard Ravenhill) There are two kinds of people: Those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way." (C.S. Lewis) The refiner is never very far from the mouth of the furnace when His gold is in the fire. (Charles Spurgeon) Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither. (C.S. Lewis) Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. -Napoleon Bonaparte If you are going to be original, you are going to be wrong a lot. -Anon Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. - Edward de Bono Without adventure civilization is in full decay. -Alfred North Whitehead You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. - Plato Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. -Leonardo da Vinci Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. -Henry Ford The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges. -Martin Luther King Jr. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it. -Washington Irving "My friends are my estate. Forgive me then the avarice to hoard them. They tell me those who were poor early have different views of gold. I don't know how that is. God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him." - Emily Dickinson Its amazing how nieve highly educated people can be. The bigger the lie the more believable it becomes. EWB How many nations on earth have taxed themselves into prosperity? None... Unknown IRS Agent Blame keeps a person from seeing what God can do. Tom Holladay If the account of creation is true and the heavens and Earth was build in 6 days, I cannot fathom how fast he can fix my little problems, if I just let go of them. EWB What is man's worth, if all are created in the image of God? EWB "It is hard to be silent, silent with my mouth, but even more, silent with my heart." Henri Nouwen "In order to grow in grace, we must be much alone. It is not in society that the soul grows most vigorously. In one single quiet hour the soul will often make more progress than in days of company with others." Andrew Bonar We are here to prepare for ETERNITY! Rick Warren Money is like fertilizer, if you leave it in one place it just starts to stink, if you spread it around things tend to grow. Tom Holladay Man would hate it if he drove the same color and kind of car as everyone else, or worse ware the same color and kind of clothes as everyone else, so why in the world would he complain that all the people on the planet don't look like himself? Duh? EWB Giving a free fish does not always benefit the receiver. What some people get for free, they do not respect or appreciate what it cost, or even the giver, which does not help them understand the reality of their situation. EWB Generosity is a byproduct the man with faith For he knows that what he gives will come back to him from an act of the creator. EWB Much evidence shows the more a social group focuses on education and group cooperation, the faster they help each other get out of poverty. EWB In a simulation when you steal or cut corners you are actually taking from your experience and yourself. EWB Poverty and Wealth are only separated by a line drawn on the ground. At times we have to hop in and out to get to where we need to go. EWB Magic and an illusion are one in the same, Its marketing, they try to draw your attention with something that is not true. EWB If you like saving or finding what is lost You are a good candidate to help others. EWB A car you can drive almost anywhere, So can your imagination, Too much of it can become a distraction. EWB Humility is always listening for help, Pride does not listen and suffers like the nieve. EWB Donuts are usually circular, So is your life until you learn from it. EWB A teacher can only show you to the water, You actually have to get down to drink it. EWB If goofing up one of the 10 commandments shows man's failure, No man can stand, the question is who will and who can? EWB Life seems like a smelters pot, You are boiled by problems till all your impurities are gone and only ready when the creator can see his own image in your life. EWB In a simulation everything seems real, but you miraculously survive no matter what. EWB Rest is freeing your mind for the next task. EWB Education is working with what you are given. EWB All communication is based on common set of references, Maybe the world is so complicated and confusing because we are. EWB The secret of man's success, Trying to build it himself and when everything goes wrong, cry out to the creator and ask for his words. The secret of the creators success, Give man a manual to read, be amused at watching him not read it and see what he does with the pieces, answer his cries for help and show him where the answer is in the manual. EWB The secret of a good education, Putting the good teacher first and everything else will come. EWB Yea try to tell me this world is not one big education program, The educator first whispers what should be listened to, Then if you don't listen, plan 2, is causing your world to fall until you are all ears. EWB In order to educate someone, you need to show the pupil that he has a weakness or some kind of need not yet fulfilled. EWB Education can only be taught in a world that is lacking. Therefore this imperfect world is built for our education. EWB The trap of temptation or rapid education is only possible, if you have not yet been given what you so desire and others have been. EWB Everything grows and gets life though love. EWB Perfect Wisdom, Perfect Beauty, Perfect Knowledge, Perfect Understanding, and Perfect Song and Dance without love, it is like a library with nothing to do. EWB Truth is when the word and the deed become one. Chuck Missler Life is like a rotting apple, But inside are the seeds of the eternal growing and waiting to be born. EWB Happiness cannot be gained with all the money in the world, Its lies with your accountability to your maker and your love of your neighbor. EWB Success is not what you get with your own hands, It's what you are given and your accountability to the giver. EWB If you don't know how far from perfect you are, Try practicing it, and count how many times you run short. Well maybe life is not that long... EWB If you live on your own strength, time and circumstance will have you, If you have someone to help you, they can pick you up when you fall. EWB Those that don't say much usually know what is going on because they are all ears. EWB Deception is the chief cornerstone of falling on your face. EWB What do the eyes and barren womb have in common? They are never satisfied. EWB The hardest thing about love is its unpurchaseable cost and its ability to never surrender. EWB The problems with this world is that not many people help one another. EWB WILLINGNESS "The world is a better place as a result of Michelangelo's not having said, 'I don't do ceilings.'" - Edward McCabe WORDS "Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words makes them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. Kind words also produce their image on men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They smooth, and quiet, and comfort the hearer." - Blaise Pascal WORK "The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it." - John Ruskin WORRY "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." - Mark Twain VALOR "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena: whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt VICTORY Martin Luther was asked one time how he overcame the devil. He replied: "Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks, 'Who lives here?' The dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, 'Martin Luther used to live here but he has moved out. Now I live here.' The devil, seeing the nail-pierced hands, and the nail-pierced side, takes flight immediately." VICTORY "We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat." - Queen Victoria VISION "Vision is the world's most desperate need. There are no hopeless situations, only people who think hopelessly." - Winifred Newman VISION "Make no little plans: They have no magic to stir men's blood." - Daniel H Burnham VISION "A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral." - Antoine De Saint-Exupery TEACHABLE "Some people will never learn anything because they understand everything too soon." - Alexander Pope TEAMWORK "In order to have a winner, the team must have a feeling of unity; every player must put the team first - ahead of personal glory.' - Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant TEAMWORK "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." - Benjamin Franklin TEAMWORK "Some people believe you win with your five best players, but I found out that you win with the five who fit together best." - Red Auerbach TEAMWORK "Generally speaking, individual performances don't win basketball games." - John Wooden TEAMWORK "The greatest players fit with the team. They play within the team's style, rather than asking the team to change its style." - Patrick Ewing TEAMWORK "There are people with a lot more talent than I have who have been weeded out of the league because they couldn't put their egos aside to fill a role." - Kurt Rambis TELEVISION "I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book." - Groucho Marx "Television: The device that brings into your living room characters you would never allow in your living room." - Red Skelton THOUGHT "We should not only use all the brains we have, but all that we can borrow." - Woodrow Wilson THOUGHT "If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." - General George S. Patton, Jr. THOUGHT "Thinking like we (always) have is what got us where we are. It is not going to get us where we are going." - Albert Einstein THOUGHT "He who has no opinion of his own, but depends upon the opinion and taste of others, is a slave." - Friedrich Klopstock TIME "In primitive societies, no one has a watch, but everyone has time. In advanced societies, everyone has a watch, but no one has any time." - Gerhard Geschwandtner TRAINING "The only thing worse than training employees and losing them, is not training them and keeping them." - Zig Ziglar TREATMENT OF WOMEN "Man cannot degrade woman without himself falling into degradation; he can not elevate her without at the same time elevating himself." - Alexander Walker TOLERANCE "God reserves the right to use people who disagree with me." - Robert A. Cook SACRIFICE A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing. - Martin Luther SECURITY "If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability." - Henry Ford SELF-AWARENESS "I have more trouble with D.L. Moody than with any other man I know." - D.L. Moody SELF-CONFIDENCE "Believe in yourself. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face... You must do that which you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt SERVICE "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found a way to serve." - Albert Schweitzer SERVANTHOOD "There is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being-to help someone succeed." - Alan Loy McGinnis SIGNIFICANCE "One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in my bank account, or what my clothes looked like. But one hundred years from now the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child." - Anonymous SIGNIFICANCE "If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we rear temples, they will crumble to dust. But if we work on men's immortal minds, if we impress on them high principles, the just fear of God, and love for their fellowmen, we engrave on those tablets something which no time can efface and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity." - Daniel Webster SIMPLICITY "The discovery of God lies in the daily and the ordinary, not in the spectacular and the heroic. If we cannot find God in the routines of home and shop, then we will not find Him at all." - Richard J. Foster SPIRITUALITY "We're not just human beings having a temporary spiritual experience. But we're spiritual beings having a temporary human experience." - Teilhard de Chardin, French Priest STATUS "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." - Will Rogers SUCCESS "It seems to me shallow and arrogant for any man in these times to claim he is completely self-made, that he owes all his success to his own unaided efforts. Many hands and hearts and minds generally contribute to anyone's notable achievements." - Walt Disney SUCCESS "Our goal as believers is not success as the world defines it. Our goal should be obedience to our Heavenly Father. And one of the greatest byproducts of obedience is "success" as He defines it. This is the greatest reward." - Greg Glassford SUCCESS "You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments or publicity." - O.A. Battista SUCCESS "As far as I can remember, being a celebrity has never helped me make a good picture ... or command the obedience of my daughter, or impress my wife. It doesn't even seem to help keep fleas off our dog, and if being a celebrity won't give one an advantage over a couple fleas, then I guess there can't be that much in being a celebrity after all." - Walt Disney SUCCESS "The desire for fame is the last weakness wise men put off." - Tacitus SUCCESS "Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." - Albert Einstein SUCCESS The best place to succeed is where you are with what you have. - Charles M Schwab SUCCESS "Success can make you go one of two ways. It can make you a prima donna, or it can smooth the edges, take away the insecurities and let the nice things come out." - Barbara Walters SUCCESS "Be awful nice to 'em going up, because you're going to meet them coming down." - Jimmy Durante READING "The person who won't read has no advantage over the person who can't." - Rev. Clifford Warren, Welsh clergyman READING "Do not deny yourself the help of good books on the subject of your lessons. Buy, borrow or beg, if necessary, but obtain somehow the help of the best thinkers, enough at least to stimulate your own thought; but do not read without thinking. If possible, talk the lesson over with an intelligent friend; collision often brings light." - John Milton Gregory READING "No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance." - Atwood H. Townsend RESISTANCE "Learn to say 'no.' It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin." - Charles Spurgeon RESPECTABILITY "Though everyone has an equal right to speak, not all have earned an equal right to be taken seriously." - Hubert Humphrey RESPONSIBILITY "The price of greatness is responsibility." - Winston Churchill RESPONSIBILITY "This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that! After all, it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody because Nobody had wound up doing what Anybody could have done!" - Author Unknown RETALIATION "People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes." - Abigail Van Buren REVIVAL Gypsy Smith was once asked how to start revival. He answered: "Go home, lock yourself in your room, and kneel down in the middle of the floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start a revival inside that chalk mark. When he has answered your prayer, the revival will be on." REVIVAL John Wesley was once asked how he got crowds: "I set myself on fire, and the people come to see me burn." RISK "The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from the shore." - Dale Carnegie QUOTES "The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own." - Charles Spurgeon PARENTING "Before I was married I had three theories about raising children. Now I have three children and no theories." - John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester PARTNERSHIP "The spirit of interdependence will not cost us more than it's worth. On the steep slope ahead, holding hands is necessary. And it just might be that we can learn to enjoy it." - Paul Harvey PARTNERSHIP "I have long been profoundly convinced that in the very nature of things, employers and employees are partners, not enemies; that their interests are common not opposed; that in the long run the success of each is dependent upon the success of the other." - John D. Rockefeller PARTNERSHIP "Few people are successful unless a lot of other people want them to be." - Charles Brower PARTNERSHIP "It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you could do alone." - Andrew Carnegie PAST "The Past is only a point of reference... not a place of residence." - Pastor Dale Evrist PAST "You do not move ahead by constantly looking in a rear view mirror. The past is a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you. We must learn from the past but not live in the past." - Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe PATIENCE The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. "What's the trouble, Mr. Brooks?" he asked. "The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!" PATIENCE "Wisely and slowly; they stumble that run fast." - William Shakespeare PEOPLE SKILLS "I will pay more for the ability to deal with people than for any other ability under the sun." - John D. Rockefeller PEOPLE SKILLS "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you." - Dale Carnegie PERSPECTIVE "Two men looked out from prison bars. One saw mud, one saw stars." - Unknown POTENTIAL "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - William Morrow PRACTICALITY "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Henry David Thoreau PRAYER "Prayer is simple, as simple as a child making known its wants to it parents." - Oswald Chambers PRAYER "God does nothing but in answer to prayer." - John Wesley PRAYER "Prayer is striking the winning blow. . . . Service is gathering up the results." - S.D. Gordon PRAYER "God shapes the world by prayer. The prayers of God's saints are the capital stock of heaven by which God carries on His great work upon earth." - E.M. Bounds PREACHING "A good sermon is an engineering operation by which a chasm is bridged so that the spiritual goods on one side - the 'unsearchable riches of Christ' - are actually transported into personal lives upon the other." - Harry Emerson Fosdick PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication." (A corporate memo from telegraph operator Western Union, 1876) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "Everything that can be invented, has been invented." (U.S. Patent Office Commissioner Charles Duell, 1899) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad." (The president of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford's lawyer Horace Rackham not to invest in the Ford Motor Company. 1903) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" (Response from associates of RCA founder David Sarnoff, circa 1920's, when he proposed investing in the young radio industry) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "[Television] won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." (Twentieth Century-Fox studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck, 1946) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "There will never be a bigger plane built." (A Boeing engineer after the first flight of the 247, a twin-engine plane that carried ten people) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market." (Business Week, August 2, 1968) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C' the idea must be feasible." (Yale University management professor's comment on a paper written by Fred Smith proposing an overnight delivery service, circa early 1970's. Smith went on to start Federal Express) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." (Ken Olsen, President of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "That kid can't play baseball." (Milwaukee Braves minor league manager Tommy Holmes, 1952, appraising Henry Aaron, who went on to break Babe Ruth's all-time record for home runs) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "He'll never be any good." (Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay, 1983, evaluating future Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion quarterback John Elway) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "You will never amount to very much." (A Munich teacher to a ten-year-old Albert Einstein, 1889) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "Can't act. Can sing. Balding. Can dance a little." (MGM executive, 1929, about Fred Astaire's screen test) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "You ain't going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to driving a truck." (Grand Ole Opry manager Jim Denny, 1954, firing Elvis Presley after one performance) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out." (Decca Recording Company, 1962, upon turning down the Beatles) PREDICTIONS GONE WRONG "Get rid of the pointed ears guy." (NBC television executive to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, 1966, recommending the new show eliminate the Vulcan character Mr. Spock) PRIDE "Let pride go afore, shame will follow after." - George Chapman PRIDE "Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, 'Something is out of tune.'" - Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) PRINCIPLE "In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson PRODUCTIVITY "Don't tell me how hard you work. Tell me how much you get done." - James Ling PROGRESS The Australian coat of arms pictures two creatures - the emu, a flightless bird, and the kangaroo. The animals were chosen because they share a characteristic that appealed to the Australian citizens. Both the emu and the kangaroo can only move forward, not back. The emu's three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to go backwards, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving in reverse by its large tail. Those who truly choose to follow Jesus become like the emu and the kangaroo, moving only forward, never back. PROGRESS "Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out." - James B. Conant PROGRESS "I walk slowly, but I never walk backwards." - Abraham Lincoln PURPOSE "There are two great days in a person's life -- the day we are born and the day we discover why." - William Barclay PURPOSE "The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives." - Albert Schweitzer PURPOSE "Great minds have purposes, others have wishes." - Washington Irving OBSERVATION "As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do." - Andrew Carnegie OPPORTUNITY "To young men who are looking for an opportunity and who complain there is no opening for them, permit me to say this: 'Go where the poor and the under-privileged are. They will be glad to hear you. When you have learned to bless them, others will be calling for your services. Don't wait for opportunity to come walking up to you. Go to meet it.'" - Gordon Lindsay OPTIMISM "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." - Helen Keller OUTLOOK "Outlook determines outcome." - Warren Wiersbe MAJORITY "A man with God is always in the majority." - John Knox MANHOOD "According to statistics, if a man is the first in his family to accept Christ, 93 percent of his family members will follow his example." - Baptist Press MARRIAGE "Marriage is when you agree to spend the rest of your life sleeping in a room that's too warm, beside someone who's sleeping in a room that's too cold." - Unknown MARRIAGE "A good marriage is the union of two forgivers." - Ruth Bell Graham. MARRIAGE "My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me." - Winston Churchill MARRIAGE "There is no lonelier person than the one who lives with a spouse with whom he or she cannot communicate." - Margaret Mead MATURITY "The popular notion is that maturity comes with age. Not true. You get old with age. Maturity comes with the acceptance of responsibility in every area of your life." - Ed Cole MIRACLES "Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles isn't a realist!" - David Ben Gurion MONEY "A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart." - Jonathon Swift MOTIVATION "It's not up to anyone else to make me give my best." - Hakeem Olajuwon LAUGHING "You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing." - Michael Pritchard LEADERSHIP "The person who knows how will always have a job. The person who knows why will be boss." - Carl Wood LEADERSHIP "Leadership requires fellowship and following is an act of trust, faith in the course of the leader, and that faith can be generated only if leaders act with integrity." - Lawrence Miller LISTENING "The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them." - Ralph Nichols LISTENING "When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something. - Jared Sparks LOVE "The love of God is no mere sentimental feeling; it is redemptive power!" - Charles Clayton Morrison KINDNESS "Three things in life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind. - Henry James KNOWLEDGE "There is no substitute for accurate knowledge. Know yourself, know your business, know your men." - Lee Iacocca JOY "Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God." - Teilhard de Chardin IDEAS "No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo IDEALISM VS. REALISM "Longing for the ideal while criticizing the real is evidence of immaturity. On the other hand, settling for the real without striving for the ideal is complacency. Maturity is living with the tension." - Rick Warren IMAGINATION "Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein INDISPENSABILITY "The graveyards are full of indispensable men." - Charles de Gaulle INFERIORITY "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission." - Elanor Roosevelt INFLUENCE "Every great institution is the lengthened shadow of a single man." - Thomas Alva Edison INTEGRITY "He errs, as other men do, but he errs with integrity." - Benjamin Franklin (speaking of George Washington) INTEGRITY "Image is what people think we are. Integrity is what we really are." - John Maxwell INTEGRITY "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what I light I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong." - Abraham Lincoln INTEGRITY "Integrity is one of several paths. It distinguishes itself from the others because it is the right path, and the only one upon which you will never get lost." - M.H. McKee INTELLECT "We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality. - Albert Einstein HAPPINESS "Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go." - George Burns HAPPINESS "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln HELP "When a person is down in the world, an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching." - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton HELPING OTHERS "There is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being-to help someone succeed." - Alan Loy McGinnis HOPE "There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them." - Clare Booth Luce HUMILITY Alex Haley, the author of Roots, has a picture in his office, showing a turtle sitting atop a fence. The picture is there to remind him of a lesson he learned long ago: "If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help." Says Alex, "Any time I start thinking, "Wow, isn't this marvelous what I've done!" I look at the picture and remember how this turtle - me - got up on that post. HUMILITY "The wise person possesses humility. He knows that his small island of knowledge is surrounded by a vast sea of the unknown." - Harold C Chase HUMILITY "He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals." - Benjamin Franklin GENEROSITY "The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose." - Hada Bejar GENIUS "When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him." - Jonathan Swift GOD AND COUNTRY "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." - George Washington GOD AND COUNTRY "If we abide in the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper, but if we or our prosperity neglects it instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity." - Daniel Webster GOOD WORKS "Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as you ever can." - John Wesley GOSSIP "If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me." - Alice Roosevelt Longworth GRATITUDE "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain GREATNESS "Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but sail we must, and not drift, nor lie at anchor." - Oliver Wendell Holmes FAMOUS LAST WORDS When the great Christian and scientist, Sir Michael Faraday, was dying, some journalists questioned him as to his speculations about life after death. "Speculations!" he said, "I know nothing about speculations. I'm resting on certainties. 'I know that my redeemer liveth, and because He lives, I shall live also.'" FAMOUS LAST WORDS Martin Luther said: "Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation: God is the Lord by who escape death." FAMOUS LAST WORDS John Knox said: Live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death. FAMOUS LAST WORDS John Wesley said: "The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell! Farewell!" FAMOUS LAST WORDS Charles Wesley said: "I shall be satisfied with thy likeness -- satisfied, satisfied!" FAMOUS LAST WORDS Adoniram Judson said: "I am not tired of my work, neither am I tired of the world; yet when Christ calls me home, I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school." FAMOUS LAST WORDS John Pawson said: "I know I am dying, but my deathbed is a bed of roses. I have no thorns planted upon my dying pillow. Heaven is already begun!" FAMOUS LAST WORDS When Benjamin Franklin was about to die, he asked that a picture of Christ on the cross should be so placed in his bedroom that he could look, as he said, "upon the form of the Silent Sufferer." He wrote in advance the epitaph to be on his gravestone: "The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, like the cover of an old book, it's contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here...Yet the Work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author." FANATICISM "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill FAILURE "Failure is an event, never a person." - William D. Brown FAILURE "What does not destroy me makes me stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche FAILURE "Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently." - Henry Ford FAILURE "Learn from the mistakes of others; you can't live long enough to make them all yourself." - Eleanor Roosevelt FAITHFULNESS "I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness." - Mother Teresa FATIGUE "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." - Vince Lombardi FEAR "It is never safe to look into the future with eyes of fear." - E. H. Harriman FEAR "Never take counsel of your fears. - Andrew Jackson FEAR "He who is afraid of a thing gives it power over him." - Moorish Proverb FEAR "He who, having lost one ideal, refuses to give his heart and soul to another and nobler, is like a man who declines to build a house on rock because the wind and rain ruined his house on the sand." - Constance Naden FINISHING "The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. I want to run all the way with the flame of my torch still lit for Him." - Fan The Flame, J. Stowell, Moody, 1986, p. 32. FORGIVENESS Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan said that her dad made a lasting impression on her the day after the assassination attempt of 1982. She says, "The following day my father (Ronald Reagan) said he knew his physical healing was directly dependent on his ability to forgive John Hinckley. By showing me that forgiveness is the key to everything, including physical health and healing, he gave me an example of Christ-like thinking." - The QuoteLetter, December, 1996 FORGIVENESS Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before. But she acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. "Don't you remember it?" her friend asked. "No," came Barton's reply, "I distinctly remember forgetting it." FRIENDSHIP "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." - Walter Winchell FRIENDSHIP "So live that your friends can defend you but never have to." - Arnold Glasow FUN "When people aren't having any fun, they seldom produce good work. Kill the grimness with laughter. Encourage exuberance. Get rid of sad dogs that spread gloom." - David Ogilvy FUTURE "The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time." - Abraham Lincoln EDIFICATION "Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear then and while their hearts can be thrilled by them." - Henry Ward Beecher EDUCATION "The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after." - Newton D. Baker EDUCATION "Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life." - Henry L. Doherty EDUCATION "I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." - Abraham Lincoln EDUCATION "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." - Derek Bok EFFORT "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." - Thomas Edison EGOTISM "He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals." - Benjamin Franklin ENERGY "I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely." - Sherlock Holmes ENERGY "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks." - Phillips Brooks ENDURANCE "When you get into a tight place and it seems you can't go on, hold on, for that's just the place and the time that the tide will turn." - Harriet Beecher Stowe ENTHUSIASM "Fires can't be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks." - Stanley Baldwin ENTHUSIASM Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world. It beats money and power and influence. It is no more or less than faith in action. - Henry Chester ENTHUSIASM "Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ENTHUSIASM "Men are nothing until they are excited." - Michel de Montaigne ENTHUSIASM "The world belongs to the energetic." - Ralph Waldo Emerson EXAMPLE "There is just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go, and that is to travel that way yourself." - Abraham Lincoln EXAMPLE "Your actions speak so loudly, that I cannot hear what you say." - Ralph Waldo Emerson EXAMPLE "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." - Albert Schweitzer EXAMPLE "Don't worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." - Robert Fulghum EXCELLENCE "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way." - Booker T. Washington EXCELLENCE "If a man is called to be a street sweeper he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'" - Martin Luther King Jr. EXCELLENCE "Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude." - Ralph Marston EXCUSES "Getting caught is the mother of invention." - Robert Byrne EXPECTATION "Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed." - Benjamin Franklin EXPERIENCE "The years teach much which the days never know." - Ralph Waldo Emerson DETERMINATION "We know how rough the road will be, how heavy here the road will be, we know about the barricades that wait along the track, but we have set our soul upon a certain goal ahead, and nothing left from hell to sky shall ever turn us back." - Vince Lombardi DETERMINATION "What matters is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." - Coach Paul Bear Bryant DILIGENCE "Every day in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the fastest lion, or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa a lion wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up in the morning, you had better be running." - Unknown CHARACTER "Character is the most effective means of persuasion." - Aristotle CHARACTER "Character is power." - Booker T. Washington CHARACTER "Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to stay there." - John Wooden CHARACTER "To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful." - Edward R. Murrow CHARACTER "Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody CHARACTER "Your character is what you really are. Your reputation is only what others think you are." - John Wooden CHANGE "Many men today will change wives, children, businesses, anything, rather than change themselves. Real men face change and reality." - Ed Cole CHANGE "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." - George Bernard Shaw CHANGE "If you want to make enemies, try to change something." - Woodrow Wilson CHRIST-LIKENESS "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Mohandas Gandhi CIRCUMSTANCES "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them." - George Bernard Shaw COMPASSION "He jests at scars that never felt a wound." - Shakespeare COMPASSION "Believe me, every man has his secret sorrows, which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad." - Longfellow COMPETITIVENESS "I never did say that you can't be a nice guy and win. I said that if I was playing third base and my mother rounded third with the winning run, I'd trip her up." - Leo Durocher CONSCIENCE "Most of us follow our conscience as we follow a wheelbarrow. We push it in front of us in the direction we want to go." - Billy Graham CONSCIENCE Throughout his administration, Abraham Lincoln was a president under fire, especially during the scarring years of the Civil War. And though he knew he would make errors of office, he resolved never to compromise his integrity. So strong was this resolve that he once said, "I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me." "Conscience," said an Indian, "is a three-cornered thing in my heart that stands still when I am good, but when I am bad, it turns around and the corners hurt a lot. If I keep on doing wrong, the corners wear off and it does not hurt anymore." CONDUCT "Resolved: that all men should live to the glory of God. Resolved second: that whether others do or not, I will." - Jonathon Edwards CONSISTENCY "I have observed very frequently that it is not the man who is so brilliant who delivers in times of stress and strain, but rather the man who can keep on going indefinitely doing a good, straightforward job". - D.D. Eisenhower CONTENTMENT "It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." - George Horace Lorimer CONTRIBUTION "When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die." - Eleanor Roosevelt CORRECTION When we as youngsters, would accuse our mother of picking on us her wise reply was, "All you'll get from strangers is surface pleasantry or indifference. Only someone who loves you will criticize you." - Judith Crist COVETOUSNESS "Many speak the truth when they say that they despise riches, but they mean the riches possessed by other men." - Charles Cale Colton CREATION "I look at the universe and know there's an architect." - Jack Anderson CREATIVITY "In creating, the only hard thing is to begin; a grass blade's no easier to make than an oak." - James Russell Lowell CREATIVITY "Necessity is the mother of invention." - Jonathan Swift CREATIVITY "Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father." - Roger von Oech CREATIVITY "The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." - Albert Einstein. CRITICISM One time many years ago preacher Dwight L. Moody was criticized because of the evangelistic methods he used. Moody replied, "I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it." CRITICISM "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him."- David Brinkley CRITICISM "Life would be a perpetual flea hunt if a man were obliged to run down all the innuendoes, inveracities, insinuations, and misrepresentations which are uttered against him." - Henry Ward Beecher CRITICISM "If I tried to read, much less answer, all the criticisms made of me, and all the attacks leveled against me, this office would have to be closed for all other business. I do the best I know how, the very best I can. And I mean to keep on doing this, down to the very end. If the end brings me out all wrong, ten angels swearing I had been right would make no difference. If the end brings me out all right, then what is said against me now will not amount to anything." - Abraham Lincoln CRITICISM "Criticism is something you can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." - Aristotle BELIEF "I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when not feeling it. I believe in God even when He is silent." - Inscription on a wall in a cellar in Cologne, Germany, where Jews who eventually perished were hiding from the Nazis. BELIEF "Believe in dreams. Never believe in hurts... You can't let the grief and the hurts and the breaking experiences of life control your future decisions." - Robert H. Schuller BELIEF "I could not say I believe. I know! I have had the experience of being gripped by something that is stronger than myself, something people call God. - Carl Jung BENEVOLENCE "Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." - Abraham Lincoln BIBLE "Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them." - E. Paul Hovey BOOKS "Books are lighthouses erected in the great sea of time." - Edwin Percy Whipple BOOKS "It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life." - Henry Ward Beecher BOOKS "No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance." - Atwood H. Townsend BOOKS "Do not deny yourself the help of good books on the subject of your lessons. Buy, borrow or beg, if necessary, but obtain somehow the help of the best thinkers, enough at least to stimulate your own thought; but do not read without thinking. If possible, talk the lesson over with an intelligent friend; collision often brings light." - John Milton Gregory ACCEPTANCE "The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for, and deserted by everybody." - Mother Teresa ACCOMPLISHMENT "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And that which I can do, by the grace of God, I will do." - Dwight L. Moody ACCOMPLISHMENT "If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves." - Thomas Edison ACHIEVEMENT "The world of achievement has always belonged to the optimist." - J. Harold Wilkins ACHIEVEMENT "Achievers are resolute in their goals and driven by determination. Discouragement is temporary, obstacles are overcome, and doubt is defeated, yielding to personal victory. You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals. Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory." - General George S. Patton ACTION "Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future run over him." - Dwight D. Eisenhower ACTION "Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind." - Leonardo da Vinci ACTION "The Bible says, 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' Have you a vision? And are you undeviatingly pressing and pushing toward its accomplishment? Dreaming alone will not get you there. Mix your dreams with determination and action." - B.C. Forbes ACTION "Well done is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin ACTION "Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." - Thomas Carlyle ACTION "I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs." - Frederick Douglass ACTION "The only good thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good man to do nothing." - Edmund Burke ADVENTURE "Cowards falter, but danger is often overcome by those who nobly dare." - Queen Mother Elizabeth ADVENTURE "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney ADVENTURE "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do...Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain ADVENTURE "The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore...unlike the mediocre, intrepid spirits seek victory over those things that seem impossible...it is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all endeavors...to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown." - Ferdinand Magellan, Explorer ADVENTURE "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller ADVERSITY "Adversity introduces a man to himself." - Anonymous AFFIRMATION "Commendation heals; condemnation destroys." - Carl Jung AGE "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." - Henry Ford AGE "No matter how many years have passed since I was a boy, I am still that boy, and I will never be able to see myself as being old enough to break my hip in a fall, unless a linebacker landed on top of me. At 50, I know the way of all flesh intellectually, but a part of me still feels as immortal as a child." - Bill Cosby AGE There are four ages of man: (1) When you believe in Santa Claus. (2) When you don't believe in Santa Claus. (3) When you are Santa Claus. (4) When you look like Santa Claus. AGE "Childhood: the time in life when you make funny faces in the mirror. Middle age: the time of life when the mirror gets even." - Unknown AGE "Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing." - Oliver Wendell Holmes ANONYMITY F.D.R. once said that what he wanted on his staff was young men with a passion for anonymity. ANGER "Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools." - Albert Einstein ANGER "Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame." - Benjamin Franklin ANGER "How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it." - Marcus Aurelius ANGER "The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough." - Bede Jarrett ANGER "When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always gets angry." - Haliburton ANGER "As a girl my temper often got out of bounds. But one day when I became angry at a friend over some trivial matter, my mother said to me, 'Elizabeth, anyone who angers you conquers you.'" - Elizabeth Kenny ANGER "No person is important enough to make me angry." - Carlos Castaneda ANXIETY "Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us." - Billy Graham ANXIETY "Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained." - Robert Albert Bloch ASSOCIATION "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company." - George Washington ASSOCIATION "Tell me with whom thou art found, and I will tell thee who thou art." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe ASPIRATION "When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either." - Leo Burnett ATTITUDE "Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure." - Norman Vincent Peale ATTITUDE "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." - Henry Ford ATTITUDE "Keep your heart right, even when it is sorely wounded." - J.C. Macaulay ATTITUDE "The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill Pride is like a runaway train, You don't know when it will derail and it goes faster and faster with time. Tom Holiday If you are tempted by pleasure Run If you are tempted by possessions give and be thankful If you are tempted by pride serve others EWB Life's 3 temptations: sex, crime, pride Life's 3 solutions: run, giving & thanks, serve others EWB In life, it is that which is unseen that plays a more important role that what can be easily seen. EWB The more lack of knowledge and understanding in a group, The more appearance plays a part in discerning good and evil. EWB The less understanding a person has The more importance chassis color has on a race. EWB A person who complains that one flavor of man is better, is like a piece of clay complaining to its maker. EWB Love is putting your needs above my own. Rick Warren It seems the number one cause of problems is that of too much busyness. Rick Warren Its your job to be your spouses biggest fan. Rick Warren Its your job to bring out the best in your spouse. Rick Warren If one cares, one must stay aware. Rick Warren Sometimes God speaks through your spouse, because that is the closest MEGAPHONE. Rick Warren To Love another human being without receiving anything in return is when little bit of Heaven warms the Earth. EWB We are all related. Lakota Belief Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. Chief Seattle Kindness is wisdom. Phillip J. Bailey Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time. Marion Wright Edelman Go to the truth beyond the mind. Love is the bridge. Stephen Levine [about the past] ...the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it. Rafikki to Simba in Disney's The Lion King The harder you fall, the higher you bounce. UNKNOWN Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words? Marcel Marceau People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. Anne Frank There are two lasting bequests we can give our children: One is roots. The other is wings. Hodding Carter, Jr. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Albert Einstein In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on. Robert Frost Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely. The Land Before Time A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. Anonymous Every man dies. Not every man truly lives. Braveheart There is more to life than increasing its speed. Gandhi Don't smother each other. No one can grow in the shade. Leo Buscaglia Don't go through life, GROW through life. Eric Butterworth Our life is what our thoughts make it. Marcus Aurelius Antonius For fast-acting relief try s l o w i n g d o w n. Lily Tomlin We are what we repeatedly do. Aristotle It's always something . . . Gilda Radner I'm not a teacher, but an awakener. Robert Frost Even from a dark night songs of beauty can be born. Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Abraham Lincoln No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt When you follow your bliss... doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else. Joseph Campbell Remember your dreams. Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey One is taught by experience to put a premium on those few people who can appreciate you for what you are. Gail Godwin I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world. Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. Les Brown Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. Ed Cunningham The future depends on what we do in the present. Mahatma Gandhi Blessed is the influence of one true loving human soul on another. George Eliot Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too. Voltaire If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. Author Unknown It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. Albert Einstein Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. Albert Schweitzer There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential. Rusty Berkus The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. E. E. Cummings Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. Michael Jordan Love conquers all. Virgil Our real blessings often appear to us in the shapes of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience, and we soon shall see them in their proper figures. Joseph Addison The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them. Antoine de Saint Exupery Fear less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours. Anonymous The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. Moliere When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. Charles A. Beard If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded. Maya Angelou And life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be. Grandma Moses If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Stephen Levine EMBRACE LIFE. Source Unknown A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Henry Brooks Adams You know you've achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away. Antoine de Saint Exupery Vision: the art of seeing things invisible. Jonathan Swift Our life is frittered away by detail... Simplify, SIMPLIFY. Thoreau A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books. Walt Whitman It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. Ursula K. Le Guin We think in generalities, but we live in detail. Alfred North Whitehead Late on the third day, at the very moment when, at sunset, we were making our way through a herd of hippopotamuses, there flashed upon my mind, unforeseen and unsought, the phrase: REVERENCE FOR LIFE. Albert Schweitzer This magnificent butterfly finds a little heap of dirt and sits still on it; but man will never on his heap of mud keep still... Joseph Conrad It is as hard to see one's self as to look backwards without turning around. THOREAU How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone. Coco Chanel . . . see without looking, . . . hear without listening, . . . breathe without asking. Auden Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies Opportunity. ALBERT EINSTEIN-Three Rules of Work A weed is no more than a flower in disguise. James Lowell There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love; there's only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen. Wayne Dyer He who laughs, lasts. Mary Poole Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. Colin Powell When I left home and faced the realities of the world, I put my thoughts of God in cold storage for awhile, because I couldn't reconcile what I believed, deep inside, with what was going on around me. But that early period, when God was as real as the wind that blew from the sea through the pine trees in the garden; left me with inner peace, which, as I grew older, swelled - until, perforce, I had to open my mind to God again. Jane Goodall Do what you can with what you have where you are. Theodore Roosevelt To generalize is to be an idiot. William Blake Bloom where you are planted. Nancy Reader Campion's Aunt Grace You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses. ZIGGY Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. Voltaire No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. William Blake Speak when you're angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret. Lawrence J. Peter When I grow up I want to be a little boy. Joseph Heller Most people never listen. Ernest Hemingway You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt Little things affect little minds. Benjamin Disraeli There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em. Louis Armstrong Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. Voltaire Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese. Billie Burke You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind. Anonymous Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble. Frank Tyger Integrate what you believe in every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else, too. Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth -- don't let that get swallowed up by the great chewing complacency. Meryl Streep Should you yield the canyons from the windstorms, you would not see the beauty of their carvings. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do. Liz Smith Enthusiasm is contagious. Start an epidemic. ( Seen on a Bumper Sticker ) It is never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot While we have the gift of life, it seems to me the only tragedy is to allow part of us to die -- whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness. Gilda Radner Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. Oprah Winfrey Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions. Oliver Wendell Holmes Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson Life has a practice of living you, if you don't live it. Philip Larkin We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart. Blaise Pascal The worst bankrupt in the world is the person who has lost his enthusiasm. H. W. Arnold Unthankfulness is theft. Martin Luther . . .if we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin. Ivan Turgenev People only see what they are prepared to see. Ralph Waldo Emerson We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh. Agnes Repplier Imagination is the highest kite one can fly. Lauren Bacall A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations. Patricia Neal The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat. Lily Tomlin One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. Helen Keller You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try. Beverly Sills My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors. Bette Midler "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary. Louisa May Alcott It is best to learn as we go, not go as we have learned. Leslie Jeanne Sahler He who angers you conquers you. Elizabeth Kenny Australian Nurse We forgive to the extent that we love. Francois de La Rochefoucauld When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em. Harper Lee Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so. David Grayson I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong. Leo Rosten WE CAN ONLY LEARN TO LOVE BY LOVING. Iris Murdoch To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides. David Viscott At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear. It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us. You can love completely without complete understanding. Norman Maclean (A River Runs Through It) You will never find time for anything. If you want the time, you must make it. Charles Buxton The biggest lesson we have to give our children is truth. Goldie Hawn There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth. Leo Tolstoy The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. Ralph Waldo Emerson There are no short cuts to any place worth going. Source Unknown The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf If you're going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now. Marie Osmond When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly. Barbara J. Winter Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments. Rose Kennedy Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree. Marian Wright Edelman The country clubs, the cars the boats, your assets may be ample, But the best inheritance you can leave your kids Is to be a good example. Barry Spilchuk If you really want something you can figure out how to make it happen. Cher My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. Maya Angelou There are two ways of spreading light -- to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton You have to find it. No one else can find it for you. Bjorn Borg Knowing is not enough; We must apply. Willing is not enough; We must do. Goethe Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower. Shigenori Kameoka As long as you're going to be thinking anyway, THINK BIG. Donald Trump Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it. Katherine Whitehorn Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich. Sir Thomas Browne Now that I'm gone, I tell you; Don't smoke. Whatever you do, don't smoke. Yul Brynner Don't hold grudges; it's pointless. Jealousy too is a non-cathartic, negative emotion. Liz Smith Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light. Jennie Jerome Churchill He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius. George Bernard Shaw Don't postpone joy. Bumper Sticker Persons thankful for little things are certain to be the ones with much to be thankful for. Frank Clark You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note. Doug Floyd People with goals succeed because they know where they're going. Earl Nightingale The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved. Victor Hugo Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. Emily Kimbrough The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. T.B. Macaulay To think clearly without hurry or confusion; To love everybody sincerely; To act in everything with the highest motives; To trust God unhesitatingly. Helen Keller The more we give of anything, the more we shall get back. Grace Speare A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. Hugh Downs The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they're still alive. O.A. Battista Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in this life. Jean Paul Richter There is a transcendent power in example. We reform others unconsciously when we walk uprightly. Anne Sophie Swetchine Plant impossible gardens. Look forward to dreams. Cry during movies. Swing as high as you can on a swingset, by moonlight. Cultivate moods. Do it for love. Take lots of naps. Take moonbaths. Giggle with children. Listen to old people. Drive away fear. Play with everything. Entertain your inner child. Build a fort with blankets. Get wet. Hug trees. Write love letters. SARK Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together. Vista M. Kelly You grow up the day you have your first real laugh, at yourself. Ethel Barrymore Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny. Kathryn Carpenter No good deed goes unpunished. Clare Boothe Luce Failing to plan is planning to fail. Effie Jones One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. Helen Keller Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin. Grace Hansen Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. Adair Lara Look twice before you leap. Charlotte Bronte To feel valued, to know, even if only once in a while, that you can do a job well is an absolutely marvelous feeling. Barbara Walters Sticks and stones are hard on bones Aimed with angry art, Words can sting like anything But silence breaks the heart. Suzanne Nichols Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. Gladys Browyn Stern Beauty comes in all sizes, not just size 5. Roseanne Love is a great beautifier. Louisa May Alcott Beauty's where you find it. Madonna [ VOGUE ] The only place you'll find success before work is in the dictionary. May B. Smith All my life I've wanted to be somebody. But I see now I should have been more specific. Jane Wagner FlowerEarth by Camilla What we do today, right now, Will have an accumulated effect on all our tomorrows. Alexandra Stoddard Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give. Eleanor Roosevelt Be yourself. Who else is better qualified? Frank J. Giblin II We still do not know one-thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us. Albert Einstein We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Sir Winston Churchill The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer. Oliver Wendell Holmes I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. Martha Washington The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. Harper Lee Learn to listen. Opportunity could be knocking at your door very softly. Frank Tyger Take heed: you do not find what you do not seek. English Proverb Service is what life is all about. Marian Wright Edelman Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself. Oprah Winfrey Love and respect are the most important aspects of parenting, and of all relationships. Jodie Foster When you come to a roadblock, take a detour. Mary Kay Ash Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either. Golda Meir Adventure is worthwhile in itself. Amelia Earhart If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you'll get the best. Begin to live as you wish to live. Unknown Love and you shall be loved. Ralph Waldo Emerson Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try. Mary Kay Ash Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities. Elizabeth Bowen Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life. Wilma Rudolph You must learn to be still in the midst of activity, and to be vibrantly alive in repose. Indira Ghandi I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within. It is there all the time. Anna Freud To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. Emily Dickinson Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. Louisa May Alcott We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same. Anne Frank A closed mind is a dying mind. Edna Ferber Don't confuse being stimulating with being blunt. Barbara Walters We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. Anais Nin There are two ways to learn something, from mistakes others have made or your own. EWB I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy. Marie Curie I wasn't afraid to fail. Something good always comes out of failure. Anne Baxter Everything bottles down to two questions: who made you? And what do you think about that? EWB Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. Helen Keller What you dislike in another take care to correct in yourself. Thomas Sprat It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. Rollo May A person becomes an image of what they worship or continually think about. EWB Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising up every time we fail. Ralph Waldo Emerson Don't be anyone's slogan ~ for you are poetry. Sandra Bullock in 28 Days { Writer's credit: Susannah Grant } Every passing moment is a chance to turn it all around. Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky { Writer's credit: Cameron Crowe } What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson I am so impressed with the concept of love. It is so illogical, it surpasses all wisdom and understanding. EWB The best things in life aren't things. Art Buchwald Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children. Charles R. Swindoll Laughter is inner jogging. Norman Cousins It's the most unhappy people who most fear change. Mignon McLaughlin It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. Former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment. Ralph Marston The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense. Tom Clancy I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. Dr. Seuss You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. Mark Twain The place to be happy is here, the time to be happy is now. Robert Ingersoll Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. Confucius Stop a moment, cease your work, and look around you. Thomas Carlyle Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. John Muir Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. Victor Borge The first sign of a nervous breakdown is when you start thinking your work is terribly important. Milo Bloom It's never too late to have a happy childhood. Tom Robbins One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. Bertrand Russell We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. Aristotle You see things and say 'Why?'; but I dream things that never were and I say 'Why not?' " George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) British Playwright It is never too late to give up your prejudices. Henry David Thoreau (Walden) Within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live. Joseph Epstein The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to them their own. Benjamin Disraeli If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. Henry David Thoreau Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. Gilda Radner Be absolutely determined to enjoy what you do. Gerry Sikorski We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth. Virginia Satir The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure. Joseph Campbell Learn by practice. Martha Graham The hardest thing in life is to say "NO" EWB You don't just stumble into the future. You create your own future. Roger Smith Never lose a chance of saying a kind word. William Makepeace Thackeray We need to listen to one another. Chaim Potok You've got to say, "I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it." It's called perseverance. Lee J. Iacocca Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there's love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. Ella Fitzgerald What is success? It is the persistence of getting up every time you get knocked down. EWB My favorite quote is "Life is too short to be little," written by Disraeli. Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that, in a year's time, will be forgotten by us and by everybody. No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring undertakings. Andre Maurois Exuberance is beauty. William Blake All kids are gifted; some just open their packages earlier than others. Michael Carr One who makes no mistakes never makes anything. Source Unknown Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions. Earl Gray Stevens Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present. Source Unknown Pursue worthy aims. SOLON Never give up on anybody. Hubert H. Humphrey To see things in the seed, that is genius. LAO-TZU Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him. Aldous Huxley Do not save your loving speeches For your friends till they are dead; Do not write them on their tombstones, Speak them rather now instead. Anna Cummins Never let the fear of striking out get in your way. George Herman ("Babe") Ruth Always hold your head up, but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level. Max L. Forman Becoming a star may not be in your destiny, but being the best that you can be is a goal you can set for yourselves. Bryan Lindsay Accustom children to a true notion of things. George Shelley There's good in everybody. Boost. Don't knock. Warren G. Harding Hitch your wagon to a star. Ralph Waldo Emerson Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out. James Bryant Conant Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. Roger Miller . . . And some people sing and dance. We boil at different degrees. Ralph Waldo Emerson Living is like licking honey off a thorn. Unknown What wound did ever heal but by degrees? William Shakespeare Look not down but up! Robert Browning The best way out is always through. Robert Frost The ideals which have always shown before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty and truth. Albert Einstein The secret of success is consistency of purpose. Benjamin Disraeli When you are required to exhibit strength, it comes. Joseph Campbell Desire nothing for yourself, which you do not desire for others. Spinoza It is not of so much consequence what you say, as how you say it. Alexandra Smith HAKUNA MATATA (it means . . . No Worries) Timon & Pumbaa Disney's The Lion King I got a simple rule about everybody. If you don't treat me right - shame on you. Louis Armstrong When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you. Lao-Tzu I am an optimist. God says he has it all worked out with a great ending. That's good news for me. At least someone knows what is going on, because I am confused as hell. EWB Faith is, at one and the same time, absolutely necessary and altogether impossible. Stanislaw Lem Faith is the Desire, ask, believe, receive. Stella Terrill Mann Whatever God's dream about man may be, it seems certain it cannot come true unless man cooperates. Stella Terrill Mann If you think you can win, you can win. Faith is necessary to victory. William Hazlitt I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education. Wilson Mizner The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves. -Herbert N. Casson Define your business goals clearly so that others can see them as you do. - George Burns If you can't pay for a thing, don't buy it. If you can't get paid for it, don't sell it. Do this, and you will have calm and drowsy nights, with all of the good business you have now and none of the bad. - Benjamin Franklin Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelict. - John Calvin Coolidge With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity. -Keshavan Nair One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. - Maya Angelou There are only four questions of importance in life: What is sacred, of what is the spirit made, what is worth living for, and what is worth dying for. The answer to all of them is the same. Only love. - Juan de Marco The worst bankrupt in the world is the man who has lost his enthusiasm. Let a man lose everything else in the world but his enthusiasm and he will come through again to success. - H. W. Arnold There is real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment. -Norman Vincent Peale Every generalization is dangerous, especially this one." - Mark Twain The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. - "Mahatma" Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi The doors of wisdom are never shut. - Benjamin Franklin A day without laughter is a day wasted." - Charlie Chaplin Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said." - unknown Imagination is the highest kite one can fly. - Lauren Bacall Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. - Thomas Alva Edison A home without books is a body without soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero Human beings are the only creatures that allow their children to come back home. - Bill Cosby The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread." - Mother Teresa A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age. - Robert Lee Frost Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you get rained out." Satchel Paige Do every act of your life as if it were your last." Marcus Aurelius Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. Voltaire Even if you're on the right track, if you stand still you'll get run over by the next train. Will Rogers Mistakes are the portals of discovery. James Joyce Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns. J.M. Clark Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always like it the least. Earl of Chesterfield Every thought is a seed. If you plant 'Crab' apples don't count on harvesting 'Golden Delicious'." unknown Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?" Anon What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight --it's the size of the fight in the dog." Dwight D. Eisenhower Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task. Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense Don't count the days, make the days count. anon. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning. Thornton Wilder A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. Mahatma Gandhi Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? Abraham Lincoln If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. What lies beyond us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson. If God is outside the bounds of time, He is 100% percent accurate in announcing the past, present, future, and of course he can write. Hopefully we can read. EWB We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with grace, fail with style. A mediocre failure is as insufferable as a mediocre success. Embrace failure! Seek it out. Learn to love it. That may be the only way any of us will ever be free. Tom Robbins Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing. Albert Einstein You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. Eleanor Roosevelt Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you. John De Paola Look to this day...for yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision...but today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. unknown The best way to predict the future is to create it. unknown We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." proverb The man who does not read good books is at no advantage over the man who can't read them. Mark Twain The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument is an exchange of ignorance. Robert Quillen Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller Diamonds are only chunks of coal That stuck to their jobs, you see. Minnie Richard Smith Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. Mother Theresa No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions. Charles Steinmetz Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will be powerless to vex your mind. Leonardo da Vinci One who looks for a friend without faults will have none. Hasidic Saying Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects. Will Rogers People can be divided into two classes: those who go ahead and do something, and those who sit still and inquire, 'Why wasn't it done the other way?'" 0liver Wendell Holmes Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can. Danny Kaye Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think. Neils Bohr Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. George S. Patton Contentment: The smother of invention. Ethel Mumford Those who do not plan for the future will have to live through it anyway. Len Fisher Capitalism can change to a dictatorships or social theft type governments when property is controlled by only a few. Because ultimate power corrupts man, Capitalism tries to disburses property into the control of many creating huge markets. This allows for everyone to be a king versus being a slave to a master or two. American Dream Don't be mislead, Socialism, Communism, Monopoly and other social forms of government all lead to a dictatorship, because eventually only one corrupted man can sit at the top and own everything. American Dream The difference between a dictatorship and a monopoly is what? American Dream Capitalism is the only form of government where every individual has rights and Property and its goal is to make every individual a king with great wealth. Its the only form of Government that does not trust Monopolies and works hard at treating all individuals equally. American Dream Capitalism is the best form of government man can come up with today. There is not man or woman that will not be corrupted by ultimate power, Until God rules on the Earth. The planet will never be free from this problem so mans best solution is limit one persons power through Capitalism. American Dream Capitalism attempts to make all its citizens as kings, allowing them: freedom of speech and not be fined or imprisoned (a voice in Government), their own army (right to bear arms), allows citizens to think and believe as long as it does not endanger others (freedom of religion and makes room for God at the top) and allows its citizens to do what makes them happy (freedom). From a utopian society standpoint, What other form of governing does this? American Dream We need to make the world safe for creativity and intuition, for it is creativity and intuition that will make the world safe for us. Edgar Mitchell, Apollo astronaut Our deeds determine us as much as we determine our deeds. George Eliot The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom --they are the pillars of society. Henrik Ibsen Change is inevitable. Change for the better is a full-time job. Adlai Stevenson The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities only if we make ourselves responsible for that future. Gifford Pinchot There is only two constants in life, one is change and the other is God. EWB The most dangerous thing to truth is thinking you already have it. EWB We have all come here in different ships, but we're in the same boat now. Dr. Martin Luther King In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice. Richard Bach, Illusions Education is what you get from reading the fine print. Experience is what you get from not reading it. anon. An unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones. W. Somerset Maugham Some people make things happen, some watch while things happen, and some wonder 'What happened?' unknown A year from now you may wish you had started today. Karen Lamb Thought is the blossom, language the bud, action the fruit behind. Ralph Waldo Emerson A man learns to skate by staggering about making a fool of himself; indeed, he progresses in all things by making a fool of himself. George Bernard Shaw It's always the rug you've been sweeping things under that gets pulled out from under you. Bannerman The worth of the state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it. John Stuart Mill A democracy--that is a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people, of course, a government of the principles of eternal justice, the unchanging law of God, for shortness sake I will call it the idea of freedom." Theodore Parker, The American Idea People don't ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts. Robert Keith Leavitt Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing. Oscar Wilde Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead Sometimes being pushed to the wall gives you the momentum necessary to get over it! Peter de Jaeger When a feller says 'It ain't the money, it's the principle of the thing,' it's the money. Kin Hubbard That's something I've noticed about food: whenever there's a crisis if you can get people to eating normally things get better. Madeleine L'Engle Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. Kenny Rogers Visible goodwill is the strongest negotiation strategy. Don't let somebody else determine your behavior. Dr. S. U. Sunrei, Sony Corp. Quality isn't about not making mistakes; it's about not making the same mistakes twice. Clair Eberhart, custom builder in Boise, Idaho Eating words has never given me indigestion. Winston Churchill Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Mark Twain I never practice, I always play. Wanda Landowska, internationally recorded keyboardist My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me. Henry Ford I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done. Henry Ford If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Peter Bender To change your life; -Start immediately -Do it flamboyantly -No exceptions William James Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together. Woodrow Wilson There is one thing stronger than all the armies of the world, and that is an idea whose time has come. Victor Hugo Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. Andre Gide Why must the phrase 'It's none of my business...' always be followed by the word 'but'?" Milwaukee Journal The only way to entertain some folks is to listen to them. Kin Hubbard Everything, absolutely everything we see about us is the end result of decisions made, or not made, in all our yesterdays." Perry Norton Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress. Mahatma Gandhi Only those who attempt the absurd achieve the impossible. unknown "Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." Samuel Ullman "My mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. She said that achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others. That is nice but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success." Helen Hays "There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction." John F. Kennedy "Obstacles are things a person sees when they take their mind off their goal." E. Joseph Cossman "When they tell you to grow up, they mean to stop growing." Tom Robbins "No matter what happens, there's always someone who knew it would." Lonny Starr "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." Walter Elliott "Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the Ready-Aim-Aim-Aim Syndrome. You must be willing to fire." T. Boone Pickens "There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great." G. K. Chesterton "The liar's punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else." George Bernard Shaw "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." Douglas Adams "Man is what he believes." Anton Chekhov "They can because they think they can." Virgil "If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." Anatole France "If you haven't any charity in your heart, then you have the worst kind of heart trouble." Bob Hope "Truth is completely spontaneous. Lies have to be taught." R. Buckminster Fuller "We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them." Charles C. West "The wise learn many things from their enemies." Aristophanes, The Birds "In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed." Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays "In war the first casualty is Truth" EWB "There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity." Gen. Douglas MacArthur "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." Vince Lombardi "People forget how fast you did a job--but they remember how well you did it." Howard W. Newton "As we come around and take our places at the table, a moment to remember & reflect upon our wealth. Here's to loving friends and family, here's to being able to gather here together in good company and health. And may the light of Love be shining deep within your spirit, May the torch of Mercy clear the path and show the way, May the horn of Plenty sound so everyone can hear it, May the light of Love be with you every day." David Roth "One who finds no satisfaction in himself seeks for it in vain elsewhere." La Rochefoucauld "Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks." Herodotus "It isn't so astonishing the number of things I can remember, as the number of things I can remember that aren't so." Mark Twain "We do not remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese "The gulf between knowledge and truth is infinite." Henry Miller "The shortest way to do many things is to do one thing at once." Samuel Smiles "...let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." >>>1 John 3:18, The Bible "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." >>>Rev. Marin Luther King, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail," 1963 "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." >>>Plato "Tis not the dying for a faith that's so hard, ... every man of every nation has done that-- 'tis the living up to it that's difficult." >>>William Makepeace Thackeray "She crashed because she looked down at the area she was scared of. You always have to be looking out ahead at where you WANT to go." >>>a woman downhill mountain bike racer "People need joy quite as much as clothing. Some need it far more." >>>Margaret Collier Graham "Any fool can know. The point is to understand." >>>Albert Einstein "Our deeds determine us as much as we determine our deeds." >>>George Eliot "Friendship is the only thing in this world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed." >>>Cicero "The road to your life's work is the ongoing process of taking the best of what's in you and expressing it fully to the outer world." >>>Lawrence G. Boldt "Wisdom is knowing what to do next, virtue is doing it." >>>David Starr Jordan "If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win." >>>Carl Lewis Judge not, lest you be so fearful of judgment that you can hardly breathe." >>>Paul Williams "We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." >>>Charles Kingsley "Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed." >>>Maria Montessori "If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought." >>>Dennis Roth "Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away..." >>>Ben Hecht "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." >>>Pablo Picasso "Cowardice asks, Is it safe? Expediency asks, Is it politic? Vanity asks, Is it popular? but Conscience asks, Is it right? >>>Alexander Punshon "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift; the rational mind is faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." >>>Albert Einstein "It is not hard work that is dreary, it is superficial work." >>>Edith Hamilton "Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." >>>Jane Howard "What is impossible today that if made possible would change everything?" >>>Joel Barker "When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece." >>>John Ruskin "It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place." >>>H. L. Mencken, A Little Book in C Major "To one who is afraid, everything rustles." >>>Sophocles "Man masters nature not by force, but by understanding." >>>Jacob Bronowski "The strength of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts." >>>Blaise Pascal "Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." >>>Jonathan Swift "No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." >>>Calvin Coolidge "Ridicule often checks what is absurd, but fully as often smothers that which is noble." >>>Sir Walter Scott "No matter how well you perform there's always somebody of intelligent opinion who thinks it's lousy." >>>Sir Laurence Olivier "In today already walks tomorrow." >>>Samuel Taylor Coleridge "Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted." >>>Albert Einstein "The length of our life is less important than its depth." >>>Mary David Fisher "If someone tells you he's going to make a 'realistic decision, you immediately understand that he's resolved to do something bad." >>>Mary McCarthy "The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit." >>>Nelson Henderson If science has found life as we know it to be digital, Who made the simulator? EWB "Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose." >>>John Mason Brown "Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let others spend it for you." >>>Carl Sandburg "Eternity is not something that begins after you're dead. It is going on all the time. We are in it now." >>>Charlotte Perkins Gilman "People have talents that are different. Where does the creative flow come from--inside us, or from a higher power? I don't ask any questions. I just write it down." >>>Phyllis Whitney "I chose and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not. You have to move on." >>>Stephen Sondheim "I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate." >>>George Burns "If imagination is not set to the task of building a creative life, it busies itself with weaving a web of inner fears and doubts, blame and excuse." >>>Laurence G. Boldt We make mistakes and errors in judgement all the time. God save us from ourselves! Who can bridge the gap between the perfect and imperfect, But perfection itself. EWB "Few people have the imagination for reality." >>>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future." >>>Dian Fossey If love conquers all, Who can stand in front of its gifts And not be crushed with wonder. EWB "[Life]'s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." >>>E. L. Doctorow "Some things matter and some things don't. Which things are which depends equally on what they are and who you are." >>>Joe E. Dees "You must have long range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short range failures." >>>Charles C. Noble "To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself." >>>Soren Kierkegaard "Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." >>>William James "To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing." >>>Raymond Williams "Character is made by what you stand for; reputation, by what you fall for." >>>Robert Quillen You see pride this and pride that trying to bring group unity, its strange because it is usually stated by the underdog before he falls on his face. After all I thought it was hard work and belief in something larger than oneself that makes things happen. EWB "The pride of dying rich raises the loudest laugh in hell." >>>John Foster "What you keep to yourself you lose, what you give away you keep forever." >>>Axel Munthe "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." >>>Samuel Johnson "It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own." >>>Jessamyn West "Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better." >>>John Updike "Everyone is a fool in someone's opinion." >>>Spanish proverb "Rules make the learner's path long, examples make it short and successful." >>>Seneca "Evil is something you recognize immediately; it works through charm." >>>Brian Masters To fear your creator is the beginning of wisdom. After all who likes a good spanking. EWB "The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." >>>Joseph Joubert, Pensées ...I know of nothing else but miracles... To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle, Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with miracles, Every foot of the interior swarms with miracles. >>>Walt Whitman On Earth there is too much information to absorb in a lifetime, There is no time to get stuck in too much detail. EWB The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings. >>>Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verses "Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced- even a proverb is no proverb until your Life is illustrated by it." >>>John to George & Georgina Keats "Saying is one thing, doing is another." >>>Montaigne "Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something." >>>Gertrude Stein Make every day count as if it were your last, for tomorrow is today in the making EWB "Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got." >>>Art Buchwald "We also should walk in the newness of life." >>>Romans 6:4, The Bible To Love is everything! EWB "One measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions." >>>Donald Sutherland (expert bike mechanic & author) "The greatest homage to truth is to use it." >>>Ralph Waldo Emerson "What people really need is a good listening to." >>>Mary Lou Casey "Truth is a thing not of words but of life and being." >>>Robertson "Not to know what happened before one was born is always to be a child." >>>Cicero "Sometimes you have to be silent to be heard." >>>Swiss proverb You know how a man feels about himself by how he treats his wife. EWB You can have too many things, But you cannot be thankful for enough. EWB "One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, 'What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?'" >>>Rachel Carson "Wisdom is divided into two parts: (a) having a great deal to say, and (b) (b) not saying it." >>>Anonymous "When one loves somebody, everything is clear: where to go, what to do; it all takes care of itself and one doesn't have to ask anybody about anything." >>>Maxim Gorky "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." >>>Ray Bradbury "One that has done nothing has known nothing." >>>Thomas Carlyle "I can believe a miracle because I can raise my own arm. I can believe a miracle because I can remember. I can believe it because I can speak and be understood by you." >>>Ralph Waldo Emerson "To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, but to imagine your facts is another." >>>John Burroughs "Books are the quietest and most constant of friends, and the most patient of teachers." >>>Charles W. Eliot "People who matter are most aware that everyone else does too." >>>Malcom Forbes "Character is a by-product; it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty." >>>Woodrow Wilson "My interest in the future is because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." >>>Charles F. Kettering "Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." >>>Corrie Ten Boom "No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now." >>>Alan Watts "We're like blind men on a corner -we have to learn to trust people, or we'll never cross the street." >>>George Foreman "The comic spirit is given to us in order that we may analyze, weigh, and clarify things in us which nettle us, or which we are outgrowing, or trying to reshape." >>>Thornton Wilder "The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity." >>>Dr. Robert Anthony You can either have the world shape you into what you are not, or shape yourself into who you are. EWB "A man does not know what he is saying until he knows what he is not saying." ...G. K. Chesterton "It is a profound mistake to think that everything has been discovered. As well think the horizon the boundary of the world." >>>Lemierre "A person who walks in another's tracks leaves no footprints." >>>anonymous "If you take no risks, you'll never be hurt, but you won't really live, either." >>>Dr. James Shiovitz To do is to be! EWB "One who moves mountains begins by carrying away small stones." >>>Chinese proverb "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." >>>Mignon McLaughlin "The progress of the world is the history of those who would not permit defeat to speak the final word." >>>J. R. Sizoo "What you want is not necessarily what you need." >>>Robert Half "One who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet." >>>Joseph Joubert "The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the old man who will not laugh is a fool." >>>George Santayana "Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight on the path to your next success." >>>Denis Waitley Those who care and love change the world and put it on edge. EWB "Fools you are... who say you like to learn from your mistakes... I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others, and avoid the cost of my own." >>>Otto von Bismarck "It is not enough to have the courage of your convictions, you must also have the courage to have your convictions challenged." >>>Christopher Phillips "A pessimist makes difficulties of his opportunities; an optimist makes opportunities of his difficulties." >>>Harry Truman "Mishaps are like knives; they either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle." >>>James Russell Lowell "Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow." >>>Horace "Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them." >>>Adlai Stevenson One is and lives from every word of his creator. EWB When one does a good job, they bring glory to their maker. EWB "We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end." >>>Benjamin Disraeli "With love, even the rocks will open." >>>Hazrat Inayat Khan "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when you grow up." >>>Pablo Picasso "The poorest way to face life is with a sneer." >>>Theodore Roosevelt "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." >>>Vincent Van Gogh "We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours." >>>Dag Hammarskjold "Goals are dreams with deadlines." >>>Diana Scharf Hunt "Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." >>>Sophia Loren "One kind word can warm three winter months." >>>Japanese proverb "Knowledge is power, but enthusiasm throws the switch." >>>Ivern Ball "Correction does much, but encouragement does more." >>>Goethe " Never ruin an apology with an excuse." >>>Kimberly Johnson "You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." >>>Winnie the Pooh (A. A. Milne) Logic and wisdom can only take you so far. Love, is so illogical it takes its passengers beyond every boundary. EWB "When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere." >>>La Rochefoucauld "Because of our routines we often forget that life is an ongoing adventure." >>>Maya Angelou " When one loves, nothing is too much trouble, and there is always time." >>>Abdu'l-Baha "Curiosity is the clay from which all knowledge is formed." >>>"The Sage", Mark Evanier "To regret one's own experiences is to arrest one's own development." >>>Oscar Wilde "Don't fight forces, use them." >>>Buckminster Fuller "One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us." >>>Michael Cibenko "Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments." >>>Rose Kennedy "People are all alike in their promises. It is only in their deeds that they differ." >>>Moliere "We can only learn to love by loving." >>>Doris Murdock "People try to have more money so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want." >>>Margaret Young "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." >>>Unknown "We learn from our mistakes, and the amount we learn is in direct proportion to the amount we suffer from having made the mistakes." >>>Tommy Prothro When I look at the heavens, the work of your hands, And the moon and the stars which you have made, What is humanity that you are mindful of us? And the children of humanity, that you care for them? >>>Psalm 8, v.3-4, The Bible "If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything." >>>Marva Collins "Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step. Only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road." >>>Dag Hammarskjold "When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it." >>>E. W. Howe "You can never plan the future by the past." >>>Edmund Burke "Love doesn't sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; re-made all the time, made new." >>>Ursula K. LeGuin "People's behavior makes sense if you think about it in terms of their goals, needs, and motives." >>>Thomas Mann "There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking." >>>Alfred Korzybski "To arrive at the simple is difficult." >>>Rashid Elisha "A baby learning to walk falls a lot." >>>Kathleen Rowe The only people that can easily understand quantum mechanics And multidimensional thinking are highly trained scientist And children. EWB "To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing." >>>Eva Young "The great man is he that does not lose his child's heart." >>>Mencius "Never let the urgent crowd out the important." >>>Kelly Catlin Walker "The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." >>>Samuel Johnson "To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something worse." >>>John Quincy Adams "A problem is a chance for you to do your best." >>>Duke Ellington "Change cannot be avoided... Change provides the opportunity for innovation. It gives you the chance to demonstrate your creativity." >>>Kesgavan Nair "If you don't run your own life, someone else will." >>>John Atkinson "Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand." >>>Mark Twain "The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrongdoer." >>>Marcus Aurelius Kindness to the elderly, orphans, and the poor is what keeps governments stable. EWB Throwing money at a problem, is like paying someone else for common sense. EWB "All bad precedents begin with justifiable measures." >>>Julius Caesar "The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." >>>Theodore Roosevelt The best way to win a long war, is to secretly help the foreign people one by one with their needs, and then you have won their hearts EWB "A half truth is a whole lie." >>>Yiddish proverb "I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it." >>>Harry Emerson Fosdick "If life were predictable, it would cease to be life, and be without flavor." >>>Eleanor Roosevelt "Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for truth." >>>Benjamin Disraeli If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day." >>>John Wheeler "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." >>>Margaret Thatcher "We live together as rational human beings or die together as fools." >>>Martin Luther King, Jr. "People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering." >>>St. Augustine "Nothing is more injurious to the character and to the intellect than the suppression of a generous emotion." >>>John Jay Chapman "If you don't want to be replaced by a machine, don't act like one." >>>Arno Penzias "Love doesn't make the world go 'round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile." >>>Franklin P. Jones "Kindness causes us to learn, and to forget, many things." >>>Madame Swetchine "I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." >>>Winston Churchill "From error to error, one discovers the entire truth." >>>Sigmund Freud "The impossible is often the untried." >>>Jim Goodwin "Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave." >>>Henry Peter Brougham "To find fault is easy; to do better may be difficult." >>>Plutarch "Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish." >>>Michelangelo "The road to hell is paved." >>>Paul Ramsey "The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team." >>>John Wooden For every opinion there is another, Just like case law. EWB "It is useless to close the gates against ideas; they overleap them." >>>Metternich "Do not be in a hurry to tie what you cannot untie." >>>English Proverb "Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice." Baruch Spinoza "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. "A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." Spanish proverb "Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits." Thomas Edison "If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else." Yogi Berra "It's easy to stop making mistakes. Just stop having ideas." unknown "The best parachute folders are those who jump themselves." anonymous "This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read." Winston Churchill "The more you use your brain, the more brain you'll have to use." George A. Dorsey "Love your neighbors as yourselves, to Obey the command of God. Value their well-being as your own, since Even the unlikable deserve God's love...and yours. paraphrase from Romans 13:8-14 "Great minds have purposes, little minds have wishes." Washington Irving "Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds." George Eliot "Hope, like faith, is nothing if it is not courageous; it is nothing if it is not ridiculous." Thornton Wilder "The mind cannot long act the role of the heart." Francois de la Rochefoucauld "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana "The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer everybody else up." Mark Twain "It is easier to be critical than correct." Benjamin Disraeli "What one has not experienced one will never understand in print." Isadora Duncan "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." Jim Ryun "The stakes are much too high for government to be a spectator sport." Barbara Jordan "Obstacles are things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." E. Joseph Cossman "The proof of gold is fire." - Ben Franklin As a smith knows when his gold is ready by seeing his own reflection in it, So God sees us by our reflection of him. EWB There is nothing permanent except change. >>> Heraclitus All change is not growth; all movement is not forward. >>> Ellen Glasgow Oliver Cromwell No one travels so high as he who knows not where he is going. Thomas Edison Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great. - Ralph Waldo Emerson When working with people, always try to look at them not as they are, but as what they can be. - John C. Maxwell "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr. Never give up and never surrender. - Galaxy Quest The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. -Ralph W. Sockman Religion is like mans attempt to touch God, Relationship is God attempt to touch man. EWB Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ---Bible, Hebrews, 2:1 "He's no failure. He's not dead yet." - William Lloyd George "I can forgive, but I cannot forget," is only another way of saying "I cannot forgive." --Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) "The welfare culture tells the man he is not a necessary part of the family; he feels dispensable, his wife knows he is dispensable, his children sense it." - George Gilder "Wealth and Poverty" "The family is one of nature's masterpieces." - George Santayana (1863-1952) "One must look for one thing only, to find many." - Cesare Pavese "There is nothing worse for mortals than a wandering life." - Homer "America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses." - Woodrow Wilson "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." - Abraham Lincoln "The basic test of freedom is perhaps less in what we are free to do than in what we are free not to do." - Eric Hoffer "Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." - Thomas Paine "God is no dictator. He leaves us the freedom to master ourselves." - Mohandas K. Gandhi "Men learn while they teach." - Seneca "It is always the season for the old to learn." - Aeschylus "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way." - Booker T. Washington "Things are only worth what you make them worth." - Moliere "Ignorant men don't know what good they hold in their hands until they've flung it away." - Sophocles "Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value." - Albert Einstein To live is to love. EWB Today the average lifespan is 25,550 days. Two are better off than one, because together they can work more efficiently. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up.. Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break. Ecclesiastes 4:9(TEV) A life devoted to things is dead, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. Proverbs 11:28(Msg) Blessed are those who trust in the Lord... They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord... Such trees are not bothered by heat or worried by long months of drought. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord... Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8(NLT) It all starts with God. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible... everything got started by him and finds its purpose in him. Colossians 1:16(Msg) Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is MEANINGLESS - Bertrand Russell, atheist Its not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, you peace of mind, or even your happiness. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. You were born by his purpose and for his purposes, you must begin with God. Focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purposes. The Bible says, It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's life is in his power. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end. Attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. You were made by God and for God - and until you understand that, life will never make sense. God's wisdom...goes deep into the interior of his purposes... it's not the latest message, but more like the oldest- what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us. God is not just the starting point of your life; he is the source of it. To discover your purpose in life you must turn to God's Word. You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation or inspirational stories. It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working working out in everything and everyone. You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ. God was thinking of you, long before you ever thought about him. His purpose for your life predates your conception. He planned it before you existed, WITHOUT YOUR INPUT! You may choose your career, your spouse, your hobbies, and many other parts of your life, but you don't get to choose your purpose. The purpose of your life fits into a much larger, cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity. Without God life makes no sense - Andei Bitov - atheist Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. Colossians 1:16B(Msg) In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself? I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born. Isaiah 44:2a (CEV) God doesn't play dice. - Albert Einstein You are not an accident. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. You are alive because God wanted to create you! The Lord will fulfill his purposes for me. God prescribed every single detail of your body. He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin, your hair, and every other feature. God determined the natural talents you would possess and the uniqueness of your personality. The bible says: God knows me inside and out, God knows every bone in my body The bible says: God knows exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Because God made you for a reason, he also decided when you would be born, and how long you will would live. The bible says: You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book! The bible says: From one man he made every nation,...and determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Nothing in your life is arbitrary. It's all for a purpose. God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes. God has a reason for everything he creates. Long before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God. Every plant and animal was planned by God, and every person was designed with a purpose in mind. God's motive for creating you was his love. The bible says: Long before he laid down the earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of this love. We are the focus of God's love and the most valuable of all his creation. The bible says: God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of the things he made. This is how much God loves and values you! The bible says: God formed the earth...He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited. God made you so he could love you. This is truth to build your life on. The bible says: God is love. It doesn't say God has love. Love is the essence of God's character. If there was no God, we would all be accidents.. life would have no purpose or meaning or significance. There would be no right and wrong, and no hope... Romans 12:3 says: The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and what he does for us. Knowing that God uniquely created me, what areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept? What drives your life? I Observe that the basic motive for success is the driving forces of envy and jealousy! Ecclesiastes 4:4(LB) The man without a purpose is a like a ship without a rudder - a waif, a nothing, a no man - Thomas Carlyle Everyone is driven by something. Many people are driven by guilt. They allow their past to control their future. We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it. God's purpose is not limited to your past. God specializes in giving people a fresh start. The bible says: What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven!... What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. Many people are driven by resentment and anger. They hold on to hurts and never get over them. Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past is past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sakes, learn from it, and then let it go. The bible says: to worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do. Many people are driven by fear. ...fear driven people often miss great opportunities... Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. You must move against fear with the weapons of faith and love. The bible says: Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life- fear of death, fear of judgement-is one not yet fully formed in love. Many people are driven by materialism. Their desire to acquire becomes the whole goal of their lives. Possessions only provide temporary happiness. Because things don't change, we eventually become bored with them... Self-worth and net worth are not the same. God says the most valuable things in life are not things! Wealth can be lost instantly through a variety of uncontrollable factors. Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from you - your relationship with God. Many people are driven by the need for approval. They allow expectations...to control their lives. Nothing matters more than knowing God's purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them. Unfortunately, those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it. I don't know all the keys to success, but one key to failure is to try to please everyone. Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God's purposes for your life. Jesus said: No one can serve two masters. Without purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. We were made to have meaning. When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable. Isaiah complained: I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Job said: My life drags by- day after hopeless day and I give up; I am tired of living. leave me alone. My life makes no sense. The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose. Hope is essential to your life as air and water. You need hope to cope. God says: I know what I am planning for you... I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. The bible says: God...is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of- infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren't. Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate time, and use your resources. People who don't know their purpose try to do too much- and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict. It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God's will. If you can't get it all done, it means you're trying to do more than God intended for you to do. The bible says: A pretentious, showy life is an empty life, a plain and simple life is a full life. You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Knowing your purpose focuses your life. You become more effective by being selective. It's human nature to get distracted by minor issues. The bible says: Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. The power of focus can be seen in light. Diffused light has little power or impact. Paul said: I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without purpose, but what is the point? Paul said: Let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Knowing you purpose motivates your life. Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose. Passion dissipates when you lack purpose. You were not put on earth to be remembered. You were put her to prepare for eternity. Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity. Given enough time, all your trophies will be trashed by someone else! Living to create an earthly legacy is a short-sighted goal. One day you will stand before God. The bible says, Remember each of us will stand personally before the judgement seat of God...Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God. God wants us to pass the test, so he has given us the questions in advance. 1) What did you do with my son, Jesus Christ? Accept? Trust? Love? Learn? 2) What did you do with what I gave you? Jesus said: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The first question will determine where you spend eternity, the second what you will be doing for eternity. Living on God's purpose is the path to peace. You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 (TEV) What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want to be? God has...planted eternity in the human heart. Ecclesiastes 3:11(NLT) This life is not all there is. Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production. You will spend far more time on the other side of death - in eternity - than you will here. Earth is the staging area, preschool, the tryout for your life in eternity. This life is preparation for the next. You are made to last forever. You have an inborn instinct that longs for immortality. Your earthly body is just a temporary residence for you spirit. The Bible calls your earthly body a TENT, but refers to your future body as a HOUSE. The Bible says: When this tent we live in - our body here on earth - is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever. While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only two: heaven or hell. You relationship with God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity. If you learn to love and trust God's Son, Jesus, you will be invited to spend the rest of eternity with him. C.S. Lewis said: There are two kinds of people: those who say to God THY WILL BE DONE, and those to whom God says: ALL RIGHT THEN, HAVE IT YOU'RE WAY. Tragically, many people will have to endure eternity without God because they chose to live without him here on earth. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears. When you have the light of eternity, your values change. When you have the light of eternity, you use your time and money more wisely. When you have the light of eternity, you place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievement or even fun. Paul said: I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. - and this makes all the difference - death is not the end of you. Every act of our lives strikes some chord that will vibrate in eternity. The most damaging aspect of contemporary living is short-term thinking. To make the most of your life, you must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart There is far more to life than just the here and now! Today is the visible tip of the iceberg. Frankly, the capacity of our brains cannot handle the wonder and greatness of heaven. The bible says: No mere man has ever seen, heard or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord. God has given us glimpses of eternity in his Word. One day Jesus will say: Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take you inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. God has purpose for your life on earth, but it doesn't end here. God's plan involves far more than the few decades you will spend on this planet. It's more than "the opportunity of a lifetime"; God offers you an opportunity beyond your lifetime. The Bible says: God's plans endure forever, his purposes last eternally. The only time most people think of eternity is at funerals... It's unhealthy to live in denial of death and not consider what is inevitable. Only a fool would go through life unprepared for what we all know will eventually happen. If you have a relationship with God through Jesus, you don't need to fear death. The Bible says: This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven. The deeds of this life are the destiny of the next. We should be realizing that every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus. It would be wiser to live each day as if if were the last day of your life. This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever. 1 John 2:17 (NLT) Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today? What is your life? We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. Anais Nin The way you see your life shapes your life. How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective will influence how you.... If I asked you how you picture your life, what image would come to your mind? What is your view of life? Seeing life from God's view God's view of life: Life is a test, Life is a trust, Life is a temporary assignment. This life is a metaphor is seen in stories throughout the Bible. God continually tests people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty. Words like trials, temptations, refining, and testing occur 200 times in the Bible. Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. You are ALWAYS being tested. God constantly watches your responses to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, and even the weather! God even watches the simplest actions. You will be tested in major changes. You will be tested in delayed promises. You will be tested in impossible problems. You will be tested in senseless tragedies. You will be tested in unanswered prayers. You will be tested in undeserved criticism. God tests my faith through problems. God tests my hope by how I handle possessions. God tests my love through people. A very important test is how you act when you can't feel God's presence in your life. Sometimes God intentionally draws back, and we don't sense his closeness. The Bible says: God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart. When you understand life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Some tests seem overwhelming, while others you don't even notice. But all of them have eternal implications. The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life. God never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them. The Bible says: God keeps his promise, and hew will not allow you to be tested beyond you power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out. Every time you pass a test, God notices and makes plans to reward you in eternity. James says: Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. We are stewards of whatever God gives us. The Bible says: The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are his. We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. God just loans us the earth while we're here. The Bible says: God blessed them, and said, have many children, so that your descendents will live all over the earth and bring it under control. I am putting you in charge. The first job God gave humans was to manage and take care of God's stuff on earth. Everything we enjoy is to be treated as a trust that God has placed in our hands. The Bible says: What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own? Our culture says: if you don't own it, you won't take care of it. But Christians live by a higher standard: Because God owns it, I must take the best care of it that I can. The Bible says: Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust. Jesus often referred to life as a trust. Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you. That means EVERYTHING you do, even simple daily chores, has eternal implications. The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be. Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust from God. God uses finances to teach us to trust him, and for many people, money is the greatest test of all. God watches how we use money to test how trustworthy we are. The Bible says: If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches in heaven? God says there is a direct relationship between how I use my money, and the quality of my spiritual life. Is the way you manage your money preventing God from doing more in your life? Jesus said: From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Life is a test and trust, and the more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be. What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me? Life is a temporary assignment Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. Psalm 39:4(NLT) I am here on earth for just a little while. Psalm 119:19 (TEV) The Bible is full of metaphors that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. Life is described as: a mist, a fast runner, a breath, and a wisp of smoke. The Bible says: For we were born but yesterday... Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow. The make the best of life, you must never forget two truths: (1) compared with eternity, life is extremely brief (2) earth is only a temporary residence. you won't be here too long, so don't get too attached. David prayed: Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. You're just passing through,... David said: I am but a foreigner here on earth. Peter explained: if you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth. All they think about is this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. God is very blunt about the danger of living in the here and now. When we flirt with temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery. The Bible says: You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. Imagine if you were asked by your country to be an ambassador to an enemy nation. You would have to have contact and relate to them. The Bible says: We are Christ's ambassadors. Many Christians have foolishly concluded that because they are living on earth, it's there home. The Bible is clear: Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. God warns us: Those in frequent contact with the things of this world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will PASS AWAY. We are preparing for something even better. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But things we can't see now will last forever. This is not the end of the story. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God has planned for you. C.S. Lewis observed: All that is not eternal is eternally useless. The Bible says: We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even a ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns. But the end of life is not the end! The Bible says this about God's Hall of Fame: All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said they were visitors and strangers on the earth...they were waiting for a better country-a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them. It takes faith to live on the earth as a foreigner. You're not home yet. You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out: why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn't going to last? At death you won't leave home - you'll go home. How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now? God is the reason for everything. Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory. Romans 11:36 (LB) The Lord has made everything for his own purposes. Proverbs 16:4 (NLT) It's all for him. The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God. The glory of God is reason for everything, including you. God's glory is the expression of his goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities. Everything created by God reflects his glory in some way. We see God's glory everywhere, from the smallest microscopic form of life to the vast Milky Way... Creation reveals our Creator's glory. The Bible says: The heavens declare the glory of God. The Bible says: The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light. God's glory is best seen is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the light of the world, illuminates God's nature. Because of Jesus, we are no longer in the dark about what God is really like. The Bible says: The Son is the radiance of God's glory. Jesus came to earth so we could fully understand God's glory. The Bible says: The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory...a glory full of grace and truth. God's inherent glory is what he possesses because he is God. We are commanded to: recognize his glory, honor his glory, declare his glory, praise his glory, reflect his glory, and live for his glory. Since God make all things, he deserves all the glory and honor and power. All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. Failing to give God glory is loving anything else more than God. Refusing to bring glory to God is prideful rebellion, and it is the sin that caused Satan's fall- and ours, too. The Bible says: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Living God's glory is the greatest achievement we can accomplish with our lives. God says: They are my own people, and I created them to bring me glory. Jesus told the Father: I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do. When anything in creation fulfills its purpose, it brings glory to God. St. Irenaeus said: The glory of God is a human being fully alive! We bring God glory by worshiping him. Worship is our first responsibility to God. We worship God by enjoying him. C.S. Lewis said: In commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him. God wants our worship to be motivated by love, thanksgiving, and delight, not duty. John Piper notes: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving him, and giving ourselves to be used for his purposes. When you use your life for God's glory, everything you do can become an act of worship. The Bible says: Use you whole body as a tool to do what is right for the Glory of God. We bring God glory by loving other believers. When you were born again, you became a part of God's family. John wrote: Our living for each other proves that we have gone from death to life. Paul said: Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you; then God will be glorified. It is your responsibility to learn how to love as God does. Jesus said: As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ. Born into God's family, he wants us to grow into spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity looks like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act. The more you develop Christlike character, the more you will bring glory to God. The Bible says: As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. God gave you a new life and a new nature when you accept Christ. The Bible says: May always be filled with the fruit of your salvation- those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ- for this will bring much glory and praise to God. We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts. Each of us was uniquely designed by God with talents, gifts, skills, and abilities. The way you're wired is not back accident. God didn't give you your abilities for selfish purposes. You were given abilities to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit. The Bible says: God has given gifts to each of you form his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you...Are you called to help others? Do it with all you strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory. We bring God glory by telling others about him. God doesn't want his love and purposes kept a secret. Once we know the truth, God expects us to share it with others. The Bible says: As God's grace brings more and more people to Christ,... God will receive more and more glory. WHAT WILL YOU LIVE FOR? Living the rest of your life for the glory of God, will require a change in you priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else. Giving God glory will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one. Jesus cried out: My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. Will you live for your own goals, comfort, and pleasure, or will you live the rest of your life for God's glory? The Bible says: Anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go...you'll have it forever, real and eternal. It's time to settle the issue. Who are you going to live for- yourself or God? The Bible says: Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting know, personally and intimately, the one who invited us to God. Real life beings by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. The Bible promises: To all who receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Will you accept God's offer? Believe God loves you and make you for his purposes. Believe you're not an accident. Believe you made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you've done, God wants to forgive you. Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior. Receive his forgiveness for your sins. Receive his Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose. The Bible says: Whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! Wherever you are reading this, I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: JESUS, I BELIEVE IN YOU AND I RECIEVE YOU. Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory? You created everything, and its for your pleasure that they exist and were created. Revelation 4:11 (NLT) The Lord takes pleasure in his people. Psalm 149:4a (TEV) You were planned for God's pleasure. The moment you were born in the world, God was there as an unseen witness, smiling at your birth. He wanted you alive, and your arrival gave him great pleasure. God did not need to create you, But he chose to create you for his own enjoyment. You exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight. Bringing enjoyment to God, Living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. When you fully understand God's truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant. God's truth proves your worth. If you are that important to God, and he considers you valuable enough to keep with him for eternity, what greater significance could you have? You are a child of God, and you bring pleasure to God like nothing else he has ever created. The Bible says: Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children- this was his pleasure and purpose. One of the greatest gifts God has given you is the ability to enjoy pleasure. God wants you to enjoy life, not just endure it. The reason you are able to enjoy pleasure is that God made you in his image. We often forget that God has emotions too. God feels things very deeply. The Bible tells us that God grieves, gets jealous and angry, and feels compassion, pity, sorrow, and sympathy as well as happiness, gladness, and satisfaction. God loves, delights, get pleasure, rejoices, enjoys, and even laughs! Bringing pleasure to God is called worship. The Bible says: The Lord is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love. Like a diamond, worship is multifaceted. Worship is as natural as eating or breathing. Anthropologists have noticed that worship is a universal urge... Jesus said: The father seeks worshipers. Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship. Worship is far more than music. Every part of a church service is an act of worship: praying, reading, singing, confession, silence, listening, offering, baptism, communion, greeting... Actually worship predates music. If worship were just music, then all who are nonmusical could never worship. Even worse, worship is often misused to refer to a particular style of music. God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all. If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, its an act of worship. There is no biblical style of music. There is no such thing as Christian music; there are only Christian lyrics. Worship is not for your benefit. We worship for God's benefit. When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves. Our motivation is to bring glory and pleasure to our Creator. in Isaiah 29 God complains about worship that is half-hearted and hypocritical. God's heart is not touched by tradition in worship, but by passion and commitment. The Bible says: These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules thought by men. Worship is not a part of your life; it is your life. We are told to worship him continually and praise him from sunrise to sunset. Praise should be the first activity when you open your eyes in the morning and the last activity when you close them at night. David said: I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise him. Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory and pleasure of God. The Bible says: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Martin Luther said: A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God. How is it possible to do everything to the glory of God? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying on a continual conversation with him while you do it. The Bible says: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship-doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus. The Message paraphrase says: Take your everyday, ordinary life- your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life- and place it before God as an offering. Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence. Real worship is all about falling in love with Jesus. What common tasks could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus? What makes God smile? May the Lord smile on you... Numbers 6:25 Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live. Psalm 119:135 (Msg) The smile of God is the goal of your life. Since pleasing God is the first purpose of your life, your most important task is to discover how to do that. The Bible says: Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. The Bible says: Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. Because Noah brought pleasure to God, you and I are alive today. From Noah's life we learn the five acts of worship that make God smile: (1) God smiles when we love him supremely. (2) God smiles when we trust him completely (3) God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly (4) God smiles when we praise and thank him continually (5) God smiles when we use our abilities. God smiles when we love him supremely. Noah loved God more than anything else in the world, even when no one else did! The Bible tells us that for his entire life: Noah consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him. This is what God wants most from you: a relationship with Him. It's the most astounding truth in the universe- that our Creator wants to fellowship with us. God made you to love you, and he longs for you to love him back. God says: I don't want your sacrifices- I want your love; I don't want your offerings- I want you to know me. God longs for you to know him and spend time with him. This is why learning to love God and be loved by him should be the greatest objective in your life. Jesus called it the greatest commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. God smiles when we trust him completely. The Bible says: By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told... As a result, Noah became intimate with God. Noah trusted God completely, and that made God smile. Trusting God completely means having faith that he knows what is best for your life. You expect God to keep his promises, help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary. The Bible says: He takes pleasure in those that honor him; in those who trust in His constant love. With no sign of rain year after year, Noah was ruthlessly criticized as a crazy man who thinks God speaks to him. I imagine Noah's children were often embarrassed by the giant ship being built in their front yard. Yet Noah kept on trusting God. In what areas of your life do you need to trust God completely? Trusting is an act of worship. The Bible says: Without faith it is impossible to please God. God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly. The Bible tells us Noah's response: So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. Every parent knows that delayed obedience is really disobedience. God doesn't owe you an explanation or reason for everything he asks you to do. Understanding can wait, but obedience can't. In fact, you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding. Often we try to offer God partial obedience. Yet partial obedience is disobedience. Wholehearted obedience is done joyfully, with enthusiasm. The Bible says: Obey God gladly. This is the attitude of David: Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey. James speaking to Christians, said: We please God by what we do and not only what we believe. God's Word is clear that you can't earn your salvation. Salvation only comes by grace, not your effort. But as a child of God you can bring pleasure to your heavenly Father through obedience. Any act of obedience is also an act of worship. Why is obedience so pleasing to God? Because it proves you really love him. Jesus said: If you love me, you will obey my commandments. God smiles when we praise and thank him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it too. God smiles when we express our adoration and gratitude to him. Noah's first act after surviving the Flood was to express his thanks to God by offering a sacrifice. The Bible says: Then Noah built an alter to the Lord... and sacrificed burnt offerings on it. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we don't offer animals sacrifices as Noah did. Instead we are told to offer to God the sacrifice of praise and the sacrifice of thanksgiving. We praise God for who he is, and we thank God for what he has done. David said: I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy! The book of Psalms says: The righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence; they are happy and shout for joy. God smiles when we use our abilities. After the Flood, God gave Noah these simple instructions: Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth... Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. God enjoys watching every detail of your life. God doesn't miss a single move you make. The Bible tells us: The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Every human activity, except sin, can be done for God's pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise. Like a proud parent, God especially enjoys watching you use your talents and abilities he has given you. God intentionally gifted us differently for his enjoyment. The Bible says: He has shaped each person in turn; now he watches everything we do. You don't bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring God enjoyment by being you. God says: You have no right to argue with your Creator. You are merely a clay pot shaped by a potter. The clay doesn't ask, why did you make me this way? There are no unspiritual abilities, just missed ones. God also gains pleasure in watching you enjoy his creation. God gave you eyes to enjoy beauty. God gave you ears to enjoy sounds. God gave you your nose and taste buds to enjoy smells and tastes. God gave you the nerves under you skin to enjoy touch. Every act of enjoyment becomes an act of worship when you thank God for it. The Bible says: God...generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. God even enjoys watching us sleep. When you are sleeping, God gazes at you with love. God loves you as if you were the only person on earth. Parents do not require their children to be perfect, or even mature, in order to enjoy them. God doesn't wait for you to reach maturity before he starts liking you. God loves and enjoys you at every stage of your spiritual development. You may have had unpleasurable teachers or parents... Please don't assume God feels that way about you. God knows you are incapable of being perfect or sinless. The Bible says: He certainly knows what we are made of. He bears in mind that we are dust. What God looks at is the attitude of your heart. Is pleasing God your deepest desire? This is Paul's life goal: More than anything else, however, we want to please him, whether in our home here or there. God is looking for people like Noah in the twenty-first century. The Bible says: The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God. Will you make pleasing God the goal of your life? There is nothing that God won't do for the person totally absorbed with this goal. Since God knows what is best, in what areas of my life do I need to trust him more? Give yourselves to God... Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. Romans 6:13 (TEV) The heart of worship is surrender. Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked as much as the word submission. In today's competitive culture we are taught to never give up and never give in - so we don't hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. But surrendering to God is the heart of worship. Surrendering is the natural response to God's amazing love and mercy. We give ourselves to God, not our of fear or duty, but in love, because he first loved us. Paul urges us to fully surrender our lives to God in worship: So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us... offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. True worship - bring God pleasure - happens when you give yourself completely to God. Offering yourself to God is what worship is all about. The act of personal surrender is called many things. What matters is that you do it, not what you call it. God wants your life - all of it. There are three barriers that block our total surrender to God: (1) fear (2) pride (3) confusion Can I trust God? Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. You won't surrender to God unless you trust him, but you can't trust him until you know him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes. How do you know God loves you? God says he loves you; you are never out of his sight; he cares about every detail of you life; he gave you capacity to enjoy all kinds of pleasure; he has good plans for your life; he forgives you; he is a lovingly patient with you. God loves you infinitely more than you can imagine. The greatest expression of love for you is the sacrifice of God's Son for you. God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross, saying, I love this much! I'd rather die than live without you. God is not a cruel slave drive or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. God doesn't try to break our will, but woos us to himself so that we might offer ourselves freely to him. God is a lover not a liberator, and surrendering to him brings freedom, not bondage. When we surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant, but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator; but a friend. A second barrier to total surrender is our pride. We don't want to admit that we're just creatures and not in charge of everything! Its the oldest temptation: you'll be like God! That desire - to have complete control - is the cause of so much stress in our lives. Life is a struggle, but what most people don't realize is that our struggle is really a struggle with God! We want to be God, and there is no way we are going to win that struggle. A.W. Tozer said: The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, sill making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We are still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. We aren't God and never will be. It is when we try to be God that we end up most like Satan, who desired the same thing. We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. When faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to have it all and do it all, and we become upset when it doesn't happen. Then we notice that God gave others characteristics we don't have, we respond with envy, jealousy, an self-pity. Surrendering to God is not accepting the status quo. Surrendering means: sacrificing you life or suffering in order to change what need to be changed. God often calls surrendered people to do battle on his behalf. Surrendering is not for cowards or doormats. Surrendering does not mean giving up rational thinking. God does not want robots to serve him. Surrendering is not repressing your personality. C.S. Lewis observed: The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become - because he made us. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own. Surrendering is the best demonstration in obedience. You say "yes, Lord" to whatever he asks of you. Simon modeled surrender when Jesus told him to try again: Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets. Surrendered people obey God's word, even if it doesn't make sense. Another aspect of a fully surrendered life is trust. Abraham followed God's leading without knowing where it would take him. Hannah waited for God's perfect timing without knowing when. Mary expected a miracle without knowing how. Joseph trusted God's purposes without knowing why circumstances happened the way they did. You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don't have to always be in charge. The Bible says: Surrender yourself to the lord, and wait patiently for him. Instead of trying harder, you trust more. You also know you're surrendered when you don't react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. The most difficult area to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought: I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday. Retirement is not a goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God as the primary attention of your lives. Jesus said: You cannot serve both God and money. Jesus said: Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also. The supreme example of a self-surrendered is Jesus. Jesus prayed: Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine. Genuine surrender says: Father, if this problem, pain sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in anothers, please don't take it away. Maturity does not come easy. In Jesus' case, he agonized so much over God's plan that he sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, surrender is intense warfare against our self-centered nature. The Bible is crystal clear about how you benefit when you fully surrender you life to God: (1) You experience peace (2) You experience freedom (3) You experience God's power in your life. Stop quarreling with God! If you agree with him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you. Offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits.... God's commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems can be defeated by Christ when given to him. As Joshua approached the biggest battle of his life, he encountered God, fell in worship before him, and surrendered his plans. This is the paradox: Victory comes through surrender. Surrender to God doesn't weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrendered to God, you don't have to fear or surrender to anything else. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army said: The greatness of a man's power is in the measure of his surrender. Surrendered people are the ones God uses. Mary responded in surrender: I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God. So give yourselves completely go God. Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God - and if you fail to worship him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice. E. Stanley Jones said: If you don't surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos. Surrendering to God is not the best way to live, it is the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction. The King James Version calls surrendering to God: your reasonable service. Surrendering to God is the most sensible way to serve God. Surrendering your life to God is not a foolish emotional impulse but a rational, intelligent act, the most responsible and sensible thing you can do with your life. Paul said: So we make it our goal to please him. Your wisest moments will be those when you say yes to God. Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover that the greatest hindrance to God's blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself. You cannot fulfill God's purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. If God is going to do his deepest work in you, it will begin with surrendering to him. So give it all to God: your regrets, your present problems, you future ambitions, your fears, dreams weaknesses, habits, hurts, and hang-ups. Put Jesus Christ in the drivers seat of your life and take your hands off the steering wheel. Don't be afraid; nothing under God's control can ever be out of control. Mastered by Christ, you can handle anything. Paul said: I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me, that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. Paul's moment of surrender occurred on the Damascus road after he was knocked down by a blinding light. Regardless, surrendering is never just a one-time event. Paul said: I die daily. There is a moment of surrender, which is moment-by-moment and life long. The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar. Jesus said: If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me. Let me warn you: when you decide to live a totally surrendered life, that discussion will be tested. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ said: When I was a young man, I made a contract with God. I literally wrote it out and signed my name at the bottom. It said: From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ. Are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases? Now its your time to surrender - to God's grace, love, and wisdom. Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. Romans 6:13b What area in my life am I holding back from God? Since we are restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. Romans 5:10 (NLT) God wants to be your best friend. You relationship with God has many different aspects: God is your Creator and Maker; Lord and Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more. But the most shocking truth is this: Almighty God yearns to be your friend! In Eden we see God's ideal relationship with us: Adam and Eve enjoyed an intimate friendship with God. Unhindered by guilt or fear, Adam and Eve delighted in God, and he delighted in them. We were made to live in God's continual presence, but after the Fall, that ideal relationship was lost. Jesus changed the situation when he paid for our sins on the cross, the veil in the temple that symbolized our separation from God was split from top to bottom, indicating that direct access to God was once again available. Unlike the Old Testament priests who had to spend hours preparing to meet him, we can now approach God anytime. The Bible says: Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God-all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. Friendship with God is possible only because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends. The old hymm says: what a friend we have in Jesus, but actually, God invites us to enjoy friendship and fellowship with all three persons of the Trinity: our Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. That God would want me for a close friend is hard to understand. The Bible says: He is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you. God deeply desires that we know him intimately. In fact, he planned the universe and orchestrated history, including the details of our lives, so that we could become his friends. The bible says: He made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God's greatest pleasure. God says: If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me... These are the things that please me. It's difficult to imagine how an intimate friendship is possible between an omnipotent, invisible, perfect God and a finite, sinful, human being. Six secrets of friendship with God are: (1) Through constant conversation (2) Through continual meditation (3) I must choose to be honest with God (4) I must choose to obey God in faith (5) I must choose to value what God values (6) I must desire friendship with God more than anything else. You will never grow a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week or even having a daily quite time. Friendship with God is built by sharing all your life experiences with him. God wants to be included in every activity, every conversation, every problem, and every thought. Praying without ceasing, means conversing with God while you are shopping, driving, working or performing any other everyday task. A common misconception is that spending time with God means being alone with him. Everything you do can be spending time with God. Brother Lawrence said: The key to a friendship with God is not to change what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. Today we often feel we must get away from our daily routine in order to worship God, but that is only because we haven't learned to practice his presence all the time. This is God's ideal: worship was not an event to attend, but a perpetual attitude. Because God is with you all the time, no place is any closer to God than the place where you are right now. The Bible says: He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything. Brother Lawrence's helpful ideas was to pray shorter conversational prayers continually through the day rather than trying to pray long sessions of complex prayers. A 450 year old prayer suggestion is to keep prayer simple seems to be particularly relevant. The Bible tells us to: pray all the time. For me to live is Christ. God is with me and for me right now! We don't praise God to feel good, but to do good. Your goal is not a feeling, but a continual awareness of the reality that God is always present. That is the lifestyle of worship. Meditation is thinking about his Word throughout your day. The Bible repeatedly urges us to meditate on who God is, what he has done, and what he has said. It is impossible to be God's friend apart from knowing what he says. You cannot love God unless you know him, and you can't know him without knowing his Word. The Bible says: God revealed himself to Samuel through his word - God still uses that method today. Meditation is simply focused thinking - a skill anyone can learn and use anywhere. When you thin about a problem over and over in your mind, that's called worry. When you think about God's Word over and over in your mind, that's meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! The more you meditate on God's Word, the less you have to worry about. The reason God considered Job and David his close friends was that they valued his Word above everything else, and they thought about it continually throughout the day. Job admitted: I have treasured the words of his mouth more than daily bread. David said: Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them. Friends share secrets, and God will share his secrets with you if you develop the habit of thinking about his Word throughout the day. The more time you spend reviewing what God has said, the more you will understand the secrets of this life that most people miss. The Bible says: Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him. With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises. What can I do to remind myself to think about God and talk to him more often throughout the day? He offers his friendship to the godly. Proverbs 3:32 Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. James 4:8 (NLT) You are as close to God as you choose to be. Like any friendship, you must work at developing your friendship with God. It won't happen by accident. I must choose to be honest with God. The first building block of a deeper friendship with God is complete honesty - about your faults and your feelings. None of God's friends in the Bible were perfect. If perfection was a requirement for friendship with God, we would never be able to be his friends. Because of God's grace, Jesus is still the friend of sinners. In the Bible, the friends of God were honest about their feelings, often complaining, second-guessing, accusing, and arguing with their Creator. God does not seem to be bothered by frankness; in fact, he encouraged it. God listened patiently to David's many accusations of unfairness, betrayal, and abandonment. Job was allowed to vent his bitterness during his ordeal, and in the end, God defended Job for being honest. God allowed Abraham to question and challenge him over the destruction of the city of Sodom. God rebuked Job's friends from being inauthentic. God told Job's friends: You haven't been honest either with me or about me - not the way my friend Job has...My friend Job will now pray for you and I will accept his prayer. God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but he does insist on complete honesty. Genuine friendship is built on disclosure. God listens to passionate words of his friends; Bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God. It is likely that you need to confess some hidden anger and resentment at God for certain areas of your life where you have felt cheated and disappointed. Until we are mature enough to understand that God uses everything for good in our lives, we harbor resentment toward God. People often blame God for hurts caused by others. this creates your hidden rift with God. Realize that God always acts in your best interest, even when it is painful and you don't understand it. Releasing you resentment and revealing your feelings is the first step to healing. As so many people in the Bible did, tell God exactly how you feel. To instruct us in candid honesty, God gave us the book of Psalms- Every possible emotion is catalogued in the Psalms. God wants you to worship him- holding back nothing of what you feel. Pray like David: I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. For I am overwhelmed. It's encouraging to know that all of God's closest friends- Moses, David, Abraham, Job, and others- had bouts with doubt. Expressing doubt is sometimes the first step toward the next level of intimacy with God. I must choose to obey God in faith. Every time you trust God's wisdom and do whatever he says, even when you don't understand it, you deepen your friendship with God. We don't normally think of obedience as a characteristic of friendship. Jesus made it clear that obedience is a condition of intimacy with God. Jesus said: You are my friends if you do what I command. We are friends with God, but we are not his equals. He is our loving leader and we follow him. We obey God, not out of duty or fear or compulsion, but because we love him and trust that he knows what is best for us. We want to follow Chris out of gratitude for all he has done for us, and the closer we follow him, the deeper our friendship becomes. Unbelievers often think Christians obey out of obligation or guilt or fear of punishment, but the opposite is true. Because we have been forgiven and set free, we obey out of love-and our obedience brings great joy! Jesus said: I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! His relationship with the father is the model for our friendship with him. Jesus did whatever the Father asked him to do - out of love. True friendship isn't passive; it acts. Jesus asks us to love others, help the needy, share our resources, keep our lives clean, offer forgiveness, and bring others to him. We are often challenged to do great things for God. Actually, God is more pleased when we do small things for him out of loving obedience. Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day. God treasure simple acts of obedience more than our prayers, praise, or offerings. The Bible says: What pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to his voice? It is better to obey than to sacrifice. With Jesus, thirty years of pleasing God were summed up in two words: lived obediently! I must choose to value what God values. This is what friends do- they care about what is important to the other person. The more you become God's friend, the more you will care about the things he cares about, grieve over the things he grieves over, and rejoice over the things that bring pleasure to him. Paul says this: The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much- this passion of God burning inside me! David felt: Passion for your house burns within me, so those who insult you are also insulting me. What does God care about most? The redemption of his people. He wants all his lost children found! That is the whole reason Jesus came to earth. The dearest thing to the heart of God is the death of his Son. The second dearest thing is when his children share that news with others. Friends of God tell their friends about God. I must desire friendship with God more than anything else. David said: The thing I seek most of all is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfection and glory. David said: Your love means more than life to me. God isn't offended when we wrestle with him, because wrestling requires personal contact and brings us close to him! God loves it when we are passionate with him. Paul was another man passionate for friendship with God. Paul's Passion: My determined purpose is that I may know Him- that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly. The truth is- you are as close to God as you choose to be. Intimate friendship with God is a choice, not an accident. You must intentionally seek it. Christians in Ephesus did all the right things, but out of duty, not love. They left their first love. Pain is the fuel of passion- it energizes us with an intensity to change that we don't normally possess. C.S. Lewis says: Pain is God's megaphone. Your problems are not punishment; they are a wake-up calls from a loving God. God is not mad at you; he's mad about you, and he will do whatever it takes to bring you back into fellowship with him. But there is an easier way to reignite your passion for God: start asking God to give it to you, and keep on asking until you have it. Pray: Dear Jesus, more than anything else, I want to get to know you intimately. God told the captives in Babylon: When you get serous about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed. There is nothing- absolutely nothing- more important than developing a friendship with God. A relationship with God will last forever. Paul told Timothy: Some of these people have missed the more important thing in their life - they don't know God. Have you been missing out on the most important thing in life? Remember, it's your choice. You are as close to God as you choose to be. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. James 4:8a (NLT) What practical choices will I make today in order to grow closer to God? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 (NIV) God wants all of you. God doesn't want a part of your life. God asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God is not interested in a halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time and money. God desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life. A Samaritan woman once tried to debate Jesus on the best time, place, and style of worship. Jesus replied that these external issues are irrelevant. Where you worship is not as important as why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship. There is a right way and a wrong way to worship. The Bible says: Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him. The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics: (1) worship that is accurate. (2) worship that is authentic (3) worship that is thoughtful (4) worship that is practical God is pleased when our worship is accurate. We cannot just create our own comfortable or politically correct image of God and worship it. That is idolatry. Worship must be based on the truth of Scripture, not our opinion about God. Jesus told the Samaritan woman: True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. To worship the truth means to worship God as he truly revealed in the Bible. God is pleased when our worship is authentic. When Jesus said you must worship in spirit, he wasn't referring to the Holy Spirit, but your spirit. Made in God's image, you are a spirit that resides in a body, and God designed your spirit to communicate with him. Worship is your spirit responding to God's Spirit. When Jesus said: Love God with all your heart and soul, he meant that worship must be genuine and heartfelt. It is not just a matter of saying the right words; you must mean what you say. Heartless praise is not praise as all! Heartless praise is worthless and an insult to God. When we worship, God looks past our words to see the attitude of our hearts. The Bible says: Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Since worship involves delighting in God, it engages your emotions. God gave you emotions so you could worship him with deep feeling - but those emotions must be genuine. God hates hypocrisy. God doesn't want showmanship or pretense or phoniness in worship. God wants your honest, real love. We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely. Of course, sincerity alone is not enough; you can be sincerely wrong. That's why both spirit and truth are required. Worship must be accurate and authentic. God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and our heads. Today many equate being emotionally moved by music as being moved by the Spirit, but these are not the same. Real worship happens when your spirit responds to God, not to some musical tone. In fact, some sentimental, introspective songs hinder worship because they take the spotlight off God and focus on our feelings. Your biggest distraction in worship is yourself. Your interests and your worries.... Christians often differ on the most appropriate or authentic way to express praise to God, but these arguments usually just reflect personality and background differences. Many forms of praise are mentioned in the Bible: confessing, singing, shouting, standing in honor, kneeling, dancing, making joyful noise, testifying, playing musical instruments, and raising hands. The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God. based on the background and personality God gave you. The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God. Gary wondered: If God intentionally made us all different, why should everyone be expected to love God in the same way? There is no one-size-fits-all approach to worship and friendship with God. One thing is certain: You don't bring glory to God by trying to be someone else he never intended you to be. God wants you to be yourself. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful. Jesus commanded us to love God with all your mind. God is not pleased with thoughtless singing of hymns, perfunctory praying of cliches, or careless exclamations of Praise the Lord. If worship is mindless, it is meaningless. Jesus called thoughtless worship vain repetitions. Even biblical terms can become tired cliches from overuse, and we stop thinking about the meaning. It is much easier to offer cliches in worship instead of making the effort to honor God with fresh words and ways. This is why I encourage you to read Scripture in different translations and paraphrases. It will expand your expression of worship. Also, be specific. You would rather receive two specific compliments than twenty vague generalities. So would God. Another idea is to make a list of the different names of God and focus on them. God's names are not arbitrary; they tell us about different aspects of his character. In the Old Testament, God gradually revealed himself to Isarel by introducing new names for himself, and he commands us to praise his name. God wants our corporate worship gatherings to be thoughtful too. Paul devotes an entire chapter to corporate worship in 1 Corinthians 14 and concludes: Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. God insists that our worship services be understandable to unbelievers when they are present in our worship gatherings. Paul observed: Suppose some strangers are in your worship service, when you are praising God with your spirit. If they don't understand you, how will they know to say, Amen? You may be worshiping God in wonderful way, but no one else will be helped. Being sensitive to unbelievers who visit your worship gatherings is a biblical command. Worship can be a Witness. God is pleased when our worship is practical. The Bible says: Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - This is your spiritual act of worship. Why does God want you body? Why doesn't he say: Offer you spirit? Because without your body you can't do anything on this planet. In eternity you will receive a new, improved, upgraded body, but while you're here on earth, God says: Give me what you've got! As long as you're on earth, your spirit can only be where your body is. In worship we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. We usually associate the concept of sacrifice with something dead, but God wants you to be a living sacrifice. God wants you to live for him! The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, and we often do that. God took pleasure in the many sacrifices of worship because they foretold of Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross. Real worship costs. David said: I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing. One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time. You don't worship to be seen by others or to please yourself. In worship you deliberately shift the focus off yourself. Jesus said: Love God with all you strength. Jesus pointed out that worship takes effort and energy. Worship is not always convenient or comfortable, and sometimes worship is a sheer act of the will - a willing sacrifice. Passive worship is an oxymoron. When you praise God even when you don't feel like it, when you get out of bed to worship when you're tired, or when you help others when you are worn out, you are offering a sacrifice of worship to God. That pleases God. I'll bring You more than a song, because the song itself is not what You've required. You search much deeper within than the way things appear. You're looking into my heart. The heart of the matter is a matter of heart. Which is more pleasing to God right now - my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this? The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him. Isiah 8:17 (TEV) God is real, no matter how you feel. It is easy to worship God when things are going great in you life. But circumstances are not always pleasant. What do you do when God seems a million miles away? The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of the pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving him when he seems distant. Friendships are often tested by separation and silence. In your friendship with God, you won't always feel close to him. Philip Yancey noted: Any relationship involves times of closeness and times of distance, and in a relationship with God, no matter how intimate, the pendulum will swing from one side to the other. To mature you friendship, God will test it with periods of seeming separation - times when it feels as if he has abandoned or forgotten you. St. John of the Cross referred to days of spiritual dryness, doubt, and estrangement from God as: the dark night of the soul. David frequently complained of God's apparent absence: Lord, why are you standing aloof and far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most? Why have you forsaken me? Why do you remain so distant? Why do you ignore my cries for help? Why have you abandoned me? God has promised repeatedly, I will never leabe you nor forsake you. But God has not promised you will always feel my presence. In fact, God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us. Floyd McClung described the dark night of the soul: You wake up one morning and all your spiritual feelings are gone. You pray, nothing happens, you confess every sin you can imagine, then go around asking forgiveness, You fast...still nothing. You begin wondering how long this spiritual gloom might last...you cry out: What's the matter with me? The dark night of the soul is a normal part of the testing and maturing of your friendship with God. Every Christian goes through the dark night of the soul at least once, usually several times. The dark night of the soul is painful and disconcerting, but it is absolutely vital for the development of your faith. Knowing about the dark night of the soul, gave Job hope when he could not feel God's presence in his life: I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him. But he knows where I am going. And when he has tested me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me innocent. When God seems distant, you may feel that he is angry with you or is disciplining you for some sin. In fact, sin does disconnect us from intimate fellowship with God. We grieve God's Spirit and quench our fellowship with him by disobedience, conflict with others, busyness, friendship with the world, other sins. But often this feeling of abandonment or estrangement from God has nothing to do with sin. It is a test of faith - one we all must face. The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship. When you are a baby Christian, God gives you a lot of confirming emotions and often answers the most immature, self-centered prayers-so you'll know he exits. But as you grow in faith, he will wean you of these dependencies. God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us. God's omnipresence and the manifestation of his presence are two different things. One is a fact; the other is often a feeling. God is always present, even when you are unaware of him. Yes, God wants you to sense his presence, but he's more concerned that you trust him. Faith, not feelings, pleases God. The situations that will stretch your faith most will be those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found. Job, on a single day lost everything- his family, his business, his health, and everything he owned. Most discouraging- for thirty seven chapters, God said nothing! How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they're full of tears? Job did: Then he fell on the ground in worship and said: Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; my the name of the Lord be praised. Tell God exactly how you feel. Pour you heart to God. Unload every emotion that you're feeling. Job said: I won't be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak! Job cried out when God seemed distant: Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house. God can handle your doubt, anger, fear, grief, confusion, and questions. Did you know that admitting your hopelessness to God can be a statement of faith? Trusting God but feeling despair at the same time, David wrote: I believe, so I said, I am completely ruined! Focus on who God is-his unchanginging nature. Regardless of circumstances and how you feel, hang on to God's unchanging character. Remind yourself what you know to be eternally true about God: He is good, he loves me, he is with me, he knows what I'm going through, he cares, and he has a good plan for my life. V. Raymond Edman said: Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light. When Job's life fell apart, and God was silent, Job still found thing he could praise God for: -That he is good and loving. -That he is all-powerful. -That he notices every detail of my life. -That he is in control. -That he has a plan for my life. -That he will save me. Trust God to keep his promises. During times of spiritual dryness you must patiently rely on the promises of God, not your emotions, and realize that he is taking you to a deeper level of maturity. A friendship based on emotion is shallow indeed. So don't be troubled by trouble. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God's grace is still in full force; he is still for you, even when you don't feel it. In the absence of confirming circumstances, Job held on to God's Word. Job said: I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. Job's faith was strong in the midst of pain: God may kill me, but still I will trust him. When you feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust him in spite of your feelings, you worship him in the deepest way. Remember what God really has already done for you. If God never did anything else for you, he would still deserve your continual praise for the rest of your life because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. God's son died for you! This is the greatest reason for worship. Unfortunately, we forget the cruel details of the agonizing sacrifice God made on our behalf. Familiarity breeds complacency. As Jesus took all of mankind's sin and guilt on himself, God looked away from that ugly sight, and Jesus cried out in total desperation, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus could have saved himself- but hen he could not have saved you. So you could be spared from eternity in hell, and so you could share in his glory forever! Jesus endured. The Bible says: Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God. Jesus gave up everything so you could have everything. Jesus died so you could live forever. Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for. How can I stay focused on God's presence, especially when he feels distant? You were formed for God's family. I am the vine, and you are the branches. John 15:5 (CEV) Christ makes us one body... connected to each other. Romans 12:5 (GWT) God is the One who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory. Hebrews 2:10a (NCV) See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! 1 John 3:1(NLT) God wants a family, and he created you to be part of it. Being in God's family is the second purpose for your life, which he planned before you were born. The entire Bible is the story of God building a family who will love him, honor him, and reign with him forever. The Bible says: His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this game him great pleasure. Because God is love, he treasures relationships. God's very nature is relational, and he identifies himself in family terms: Father, Son, and Spirit. The Trinity is God's relationship to himself. The Trinity is the perfect pattern for relational harmony, and we should study its implications. God has always existed in loving relationship to himself, so he has never been lonely. He didn't need a family-he desired one, so he devised a plan to bring us into his family, and share with us all he has. This gives God great pleasure. The Bible says: It was a happy day for him when he gave us our new lives, through the truth of his Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in his new family. When we place our faith in Christ, God becomes our Father, we become his children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the church becomes our spiritual family. The family of God includes all believers in the past, the present, and the future.' Every human being was created by God, but not everyone is a child of God. The only way to get into God's family is by being born again into it. You become part of the human family by your first birth, but you become a member of God's family by your second birth. God has given us the privilege of being born again, so that we are now members of God's own family. The invitation to be part of God's family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus. The Bible says: You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, death. On the other hand, our spiritual family - our relationship to other believers - will continue throughout eternity. The spiritual family is a much stronger union, a more permanent bond, than blood relationships. Paul said: When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God - some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth. The moment you were spiritually borne into God's family, you were given some astounding birthday gifts: the family name, the family likeness, the family privileges, the family intimate access, and the family inheritance. The Bible says: Since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you. The New Testament gives great emphasis to our rich inheritance. The Bible says: My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. As children of God we get to share in the family fortune. Here on earth we are given: the riches...of his grace... kindness... patience... glory... wisdom... power...and mercy... But in eternity we will inherit even more. Paul said: I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people. What exactly does our inheritance include? (1) We will get to be with God forever. (2) We will be completely changed to be like Christ. (3) We will be freed from all pain, death, and suffering. (4) We will be rewarded and reassigned positions of service. (5) We will get to share in Christ's glory. What an inheritance! You are far richer than you realize. The Bible says: God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. Your eternal inheritance is Priceless pure, permanent, and protected. No one can take your eternal inheritance from you; it can't be destroyed by war, a poor economy, or natural disaster. This eternal inheritance, not retirement, is what you should be looking forward to and working for. Paul says: Whatever you do, work with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Retirement is a short-sighted goal. You should be living the light of eternity. Baptism is not an optional ritual, to be displayed or postponed. It signifies you inclusion in God's family. Baptism signifies your inclusion in God's family. Jesus told us: go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and Sond and Holy Spirit. Baptism is so important because it symbolizes God's second purpose for your life: participating in the fellowship of God's eternal family. Your baptism declares your faith, shares Christ's burial and resurrections, symbolizes you death to your old life, and announces your new life in Christ. Your baptism is a celebration of your inclusion in God's family. Your baptism is a physical picture of your spiritual truth. The Bible says: Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit. Baptism doesn't make you a member of God's family; only faith in Christ does that. Baptism shows you are a part of God's family. Baptism is like a wedding ring, it is a visible reminder of an inward commitment made in your heart. In the New Testament, people were baptized as soon as they believed. If you haven't been baptized as an expression of your faith in Jesus Christ, do so as soon as possible, as Jesus commanded. The Bible says: Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. Than is why he isn't ashamed to call them him brothers and sisters. Let that amazing truth sink in. You are part of God's family, and because Jesus makes you holy, God is proud of you! The words of Jesus are unmistakable: Jesus pointed to his disciples and said, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother! Being included in God's family is the highest honor and greatest privilege you will ever receive. Nothing else comes close. Whenever you feel unimportant, unloved, or insecure, remember to whom you belong. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:5a (NLT) How can I start treating other believers like members of my own family? No matter what I say, What I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. 1 Corinthians 13:3b (Msg) Love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love. 2 John 1:6 (NCV) Life is all about Love. Because God is love, the most important lesson he wants you to learn on earth is how to love. It is in loving that we are most like him, so love is the foundation of every command he has given us. The bible says: Love others as you love yourself. Leering to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature. That's why we are given a lifetime to learn it. Of course, God wants us to love everyone, but he is particularly concerned that we learn to love others in his family. Peter tells us: Show special love for God's people. Paul says: When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers. Why do believers get priority in loving? Because God wants his family to be known for its love more than anything else. Jesus said: our love for each other - not our doctrinal beliefs - is our greatest witness to the world. Jesus said: Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples. In heaven we will enjoy God's family forever, but first we have some tough work to do here on earth to prepare ourselves for an eternity of loving. God trains us by giving us family responsibilities, and the foremost of these is to practice loving each other. God wants you to be in regular, close fellowship with other believers so you can develop the skill of loving. Love cannot be learned in isolation. For love to be learned, you have to be around people - irritating, imperfect, frustrating people. Through fellowship we learn three important truths: (1) Life without love is really worthless. (2) Love will last forever. (3) We will be evaluated by our love. Life without love is really worthless. Paul makes this point: No matter what I say, What I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Often we act as if relationships are something to be squeezed into your schedule. God says relationships are what life is all about. Four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship to God while the other six deal with our relationship with people. But all ten are about relationships! Jesus summarized what matters most to God in two statements: love God and love people. Jesus said: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. After learning to love God (worship), learning to love others is the second purpose in life. Relationships, not achievements or the acquisition of things, are what matters most in life. So why do we allow our relationships to get the short end of the stick? When our schedules become overloaded, we start skimming relationally, cutting back on giving the time, energy, and attention that loving relationships require. What is most important to God is displaced by what's urgent. The point of life is learning to love- God and people. Life minus love equals zero. Busyness is a great enemy of relationships. With busyness, we become preoccupied with making a living, doing our work, paying bills, and accomplishing goals as if these tasks are the point of life. They are not. Love will last forever. Another reason God tells us to make love our top priority is that it is eternal. The Bible says: These three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. Love leaves legacy. How you treated other people, not your wealth or accomplishments, is the most enduring impact you can leave on earth. As Mother Teresa said: It's not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters. Love is the secret of a lasting heritage. I have been at the bedside of many people in their final moments, when they stand on the edge of eternity, and I have never heard anyone say: bring me my diplomas! my awards, my medals, that watch, I want to look at them one more time. When life on earth is ending, people don't surround themselves with objects. When life on earth is ending, we want around us people we love and have a relationship with. In our final moments we realize that relationships are what life is all about. Wisdom is learning that truth about relationships sooner, rather than later. Don't wait until you're on your deathbed to figure out that nothing matters more than relationships. We will be evaluated on our love. Your life is what we will be evaluated on in eternity. One of the ways God measures spiritual maturity is by the quality of your relationships. In heaven God won't say: Tell me about your career, your bank account, and your hobbies. God will review how you treated other people, particularly those in need. Jesus said the way to love him, is to love his family, and care for their practical needs. Jesus said: Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. When you transfer to eternity, you will leave everything else behind. All you can take with you, is your character. The Bible says: The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. I suggest that when you wake up every morning, pray this: God whether I get anything else done today, I want to make sure that I spend time loving you and loving other people. Loving God and loving people - that's what life is all about. Why should God give you another day, if you're going to waste it? The importance of things can be measured by how much time you are willing to invest in them. The more time you give to something, the more you reveal its importance and value to you. If you want to know a person's priorities, just look at how they use their time. Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. It is not enough just to say relationships are important; we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless. The Bible says: My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself is action. Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is T-I-M-E. The essence of love is not what we think, or do or provide for others, but how much we give of ourselves. Men, in particular, often don't understand relationships: Many have said to me: I don't understand my wife and kids. I provide everything they need. What more could they want? Nothing can take the place of that. Your time... The most desired gift of love is not diamonds or roses or chocolate. It is focused attention. Love concentrates so intently on another that you forget yourself in that moment. Attention says: I value you enough to give you my most precious asset-my time. Whenever you give your time, you are making a sacrifice, and sacrifice is the essence of love. Jesus modeled this: Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave Himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. God so loved the world that he gave... Love means giving up-yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else. Sometimes procrastination is a legitimate response to a trivial task. But because love is what matters most, it takes top priority. The Bible stresses repeatedly: Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone. The Bible stresses repeatedly: Use every chance you have for doing good. The Bible stresses repeatedly: Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. The Bible stresses repeatedly: Never tell your neighbor to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now. Why is now the best time to express love? Because you don't know how long you will have the opportunity. Why is now the best time to express love? Circumstances change. People die. Children grow up. Why is now the best time to express love? You have no guarantee of tomorrow. If you want to express love, you had better do it now. Standing before God: How will you explain those times when projects or things were more important to you than people? Who do you need to start spending more time with? What do you need to cut out of your schedule? What sacrifices do you need to make? The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now. Honestly, are relationships my first priority? How can I insure that they are? You are members of Gods very own family. citizens of God's country, and you belong in God's household with every other Christian. Ephesians 2:19b (LB) God's family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:15B (GWT) You are called to believe, not just believe. Even in the perfect, sinless environment of Eden, God said: It is not good for man to be alone. We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family, and none of us can fulfill God's purposes by ourselves. The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints, or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship. The Bible says: we are put together, jointed together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted together, and held together, and will be caught up together. You're not on your own anymore. While your relationship with Christ is personal, God never intends it to be private. In God's family you are connected to every other believer, and will belong to each other for eternity. The Bible says: In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Following Christ includes belonging, not just believing. C.S. Lewis noted that the word membership is of Christian origin, but the world has emptied it of its original meaning. Stores offer discounts to its members... Paul, being a member of the church meant being a vital organ of a living body, an indispensable, interconnected part of the Body of Christ. We need to recover the practice and biblical meaning of membership. The church is a body, not a building; an organism, not an organization. For the organs of your body to fulfill their purpose, they must be connected to your body. The same is true for you as part of Christ's Body. You were created for a specific role, But you will miss this second purpose of your life if you're not attached to a living local church. You discover your role in life through your relationships with others. The Bible tells us: Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're taking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us find our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off-finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it will shrivel and die. It cannot exist on its own, and neither can you. Disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist. This is why the first symptoms of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services and other gatherings of believers. Whenever we become careless about fellowship, everything else begins to slide, too. Membership in the family of God is neither inconsequential nor something to be casually ignored. The church is God's agenda for the world. Jesus said: I will build my church, and the powers of hell will not conquer it. The church is indestructible and will exit for eternity. The church will outlive the universe, and so will your role in it. The person who says: I don't need the church, is either arrogant or ignorant. The church is so significant that Jesus died on the cross for it. The Bible says: Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. The Bible calls the Church: the bride of Christ. I cannot imagine saying to Jesus: I love you, but I don't like your wife. Or I accept you, but I reject your body. God commands us to love the Church as much as Jesus. The Bible says: Love your spiritual family. Sadly many Christians use the church but don't love it. The New Testament assumes membership in a local congregation. The only Christians not members of a local fellowship were those under church discipline who had been removed from the fellowship because of a gross public sin. The Bible says a Christian without a church home is like an organ without a body, a sheep without a flock, or a child without a family. It is an unnatural state. The Bible says: You belong in God's household with every other Christian. Today's culture of independent individualism has created many spiritual orphans. Many believe one can be a good Christian without joining (or even attending) a local church, but God would strongly disagree. A church family identifies you as a genuine believer. I can't claim to be following Christ if I'm not committed to any specific group of disciples. Jesus said: Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. When we come together in love as a church family from different backgrounds, race, and social status, it is a powerful witness to the world. You are not the Body of Christ on your own. Together, not separated, we are his Body. A church family moves you out of self-centered isolation. The local church is the classroom for learning how to get along in God's family. The local church is a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic love. As a participating member of a local church you learn to care about others and share the experiences of others. The Bible says: If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all other parts share its honor. Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connected and dependent on each other. Biblical fellowship is being committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ. God expects us to give our lives for each other. Many Christians who know John 3:16 are unaware of 1 John 3:16 Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. A church family helps you develop spiritual muscle. You will never grow to maturity just by attending worship services and being a passive spectator. Only by participation in the full life of a local church builds spiritual muscle. The Bible says: As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. We are commanded to: Love each other, Pray for each other, Encourage each other, Admonish each other, Greet each other, Serve each other, Teach each other, Accept each other, Honor each other, Bear each other's burdens, Forgive each other, Submit to each other, Be devoted to each other, and many other mutual tasks. It may seem easier to be holy when no one else is around to frustrate your preferences, but that is false, untested holiness. Isolation breeds deceitfulness. It is easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are mature if there is no one to challenge us. Real maturity shows up in relationships. We need more than the Bible in order to grow; we need other believers. We grow faster and stronger by learning from each other and being accountable to each other. When others share what God is teaching them, I learn and grow, too. The Body of Christ needs you. God has a unique role for you to play in his family. This is called your ministry. The Bible says: A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church. Your local fellowship is the place God designed for you to discover, develop, and use your gifts. You may also have a wider ministry, but that is in addition to your service in a local body. Jesus has not promised to build your ministry; he has promised to build his church. You will share in Christ's mission in the world. When Jesus walked the earth, God worked through the physical body of Christ; today he uses his spiritual body. The church is God's instrument on earth. We are not just to model God's love by loving each other; we are to carry it together to the rest of the world. As members of Christ's body, we are his hands, his feet, his eyes, and his heart. Christ works through us in the world. We each have a contribution to make. Paul tells us: He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, and good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. A church family will help keep you from backsliding. None of us are immune to temptation. Given the right situation, you and I are capable of any sin. Given the right situation, you and I are capable of any sin. God knows this, so he assigned us as individuals the responsibility of keeping each other on track. The Bible says: Encourage one another daily... so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Mind your own business is not a Christian phrase. We are all commanded to be involved in each others lives. If you know someone who is wavering spiritually right now, It is your responsibility to go after them and bring them back into fellowship. James tells us: If you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off. Go after them. Get them back. A related benefit of a local church is that is also provides the spiritual protection of godly leaders. God gives shepherd leaders the responsibility to guard, protect, defend, and care for the spiritual welfare of his flock. We are told about leaders: Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Satan loves detached believers, unplugged from the life of the Body, isolated from God's family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders, because he knows they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics. The purpose driven church is created to meet 5 of your deepest needs: (1) A purpose to live for. (2) People to live with. (3) Principles to live by. (4) A profession to live out. (5) And power to live on. God's purposes for his church are identical to his 5 purposes for you: (1) Worship helps you focus on God. (2) Fellowship helps you to face life's problems. (3) Discipleship helps fortify you faith. (4) Ministry helps find your talents. (5) Evangelism helps fulfill you mission. There is nothing else on earth like the church! When you are born again, you automatically became a part of God's universal family, but you also need to become a member of a local expression of God's family. The difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment. Church attenders are customers; Church members are contributors. Church attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing in the responsibility. God wants you to love real people, not ideal people. You can spend a lifetime searching for the perfect church, but you will never find it. You are called to love imperfect sinners, just as God does. The Bible says: They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. The Christian life is more than just a commitment to Christ; it includes a commitment to other Christians. Paul said: First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will, they game themselves to us as well. Joining the membership of a local church is the natural step once you've become a child of God. The first decision brings salvation; the second brings fellowship. I am called to belong, not just believe. In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:5 (NIV) Does my level of involvement in my local church demonstrate that I love and committed to God's family? Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. Colossians 3:15 (CEV) How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God's people to live together in harmony! Psalm 133:1 (TEV) Life is meant to be shared. God intends for us to experience life together. The Bible calls this shared life experience is fellowship. Fellowship is experiencing life together. Fellowship includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the "one another" commands found in the New Testament. When it comes to fellowship, size matters: Small is better. You can worship in a crowd, but you can't fellowship with one. Once a group becomes larger than ten people, someone stops participating - and a few people will dominate the group. Jesus ministered in the context of a small group of disciples. Jesus could have chosen more, but he knew twelve is about the maximum size you can have small group if everyone is to participate. The Body of Chris, like your own body, is really a collection of many small cells. Every Christian needs to be involved in a small group within their church. God has made an incredible promise about small groups of believers: For where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there in their midst. What is the difference between real fellowship and fake fellowship? People experience authenticity. In real fellowship people are experience authenticity. Authentic fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit chat. It is genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing. Fellowship happens when people are honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. Fellowship happens when people share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weakness, and ask for help and prayer. Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in some churches. Authenticity is not when people wear masks, keep their guard up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. These attitudes are the death of real fellowship. It is only when we become open about our lives that we can experience real fellowship. The Bible says: If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other... If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves. The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens it the light. Real fellowship happens when people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. Why would anyone take such a risk of open fellowship? Because it is the only way to grow spiritually and emotionally healthy. The Bible says: Make this your common practice: Confess you sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. We only grow by taking risks, and the most difficult risk of all is to be honest with ourselves and others. In real fellowship people experience mutuality. Mutuality is the art of giving and receiving. Its depending on each other. The Bible says: The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part. Mutuality is the heart of fellowship: building reciprocal relationships, sharing responsibilities, and helping each other. Paul said: I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you. All of us are more consistent in our faith when others walk with us and encourage us. The Bible commands: mutual accountability, mutual encouragement, mutual serving, mutual honoring. The Bible says: Make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification. You are not responsible for everyone in the Body of Christ, but you are responsible to them. God expects you to do whatever you can to help them. In real fellowship people experience sympathy. Sympathy is not giving advice or offering quick, cosmetic help; sympathy is enduring in and sharing the pain of others. Sympathy says: I understand what you're going through, and what you feel is neither strange or crazy. The Bible says: As holy people... be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Sympathy meets two fundamental human needs: The need to be understood and the need to have your feelings validated. Every time you understand and affirm someone's feelings, you build fellowship. The problem is that we are often in so much of a hurry to fix things that we don't have time to sympathize with people. Self-pity dries up sympathy for others. There are different levels of fellowship, the simplest levels are: fellowship of sharing, fellowship of studying, fellowship of serving, fellowship of suffering. The Bible commands: share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. It is in the times of deep crisis, grief, and doubt that we need each other most. When circumstances crush us to the point that our faith falters, that's when we need believing friends the most. When circumstances crush us to the point that our faith falters, we need a small group of friends to have faith in God for us and to pull us through. In a small group, the Body of Christ is real and tangible even when God seems distant. Fellowship is what Job desperately needed during his suffering. He cried out: A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. In real fellowship people experience mercy. Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren't rubbed in but rubbed out. Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice. We all need mercy, because we stumble and fall and require help getting back on track. We need to offer mercy to each other and be willing to receive it from each other. God says: when people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair. You cannot have fellowship without forgiveness. God warns: Never hold grudges, God warns: Never hold grudges, because bitterness and resentment always destroys fellowship. Because we're imperfect, sinful people, we inevitably hurt each other when we're together for a long enough time. Sometimes we hurt each other intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but either way, it takes massive amounts of mercy and grace to create and maintain fellowship. The Bible says: You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. God's mercy to us is the motivation for showing mercy to others. Remember, you will never be asked to forgive someone else more than God has already forgiven you. Whenever you are hurt by someone, you have a choice to make: Will I use my energy and emotions for retaliation or for resolution? You can't do both. Many people are reluctant to show mercy because they don't understand the difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior. Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record. If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you. They must prove they have changed over time. The best place to restore trust is within the supportive context of a small group that offers both encouragement and accountability. There are many other benefits you will experience in being a part of a small group committed to real fellowship. It is an essential part of your Christian life that you cannot overlook. For over 2,000 years Christians have regularly gathered in small groups for fellowship. If you've never been a part of Christian small group, you really don't know what you're missing. You were created for community. I need others in my life. Sharing each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (NLT) What one step can I take today to connect with another believer at a more genuine, heart-to-heart level? You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. James 3:18 (Msg) They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Acts 2:42 (Msg) Community requires commitment. Only the Holy Spirit can create real fellowship between believers. Only the Holy Spirit can create real fellowship between believers, but he cultivates it with choices and commitments we make. Paul points out: You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way. It takes both God's power and our effort to produce a loving Christian community. Unfortunately, many people grow up in families with unhealthy relationships, so they lack the relational skills needed for real fellowship. Paul wrote: I am writing you these things to you... so you will know how to live in the family of God. That family is the church. Cultivating community takes honesty. In Cultivating community you will have to care enough to lovingly speak the truth, even when you would rather gloss over a problem or ignore an issue. While it is much easier to remain silent when others around us are harming themselves or others with a sinful pattern, it is not loving to do. Most people have no one in their lives who loves them enough to tell them the truth, so they continue in self-destructive ways. Often we know what needs to be said to someone, but our fears prevent us from saying anything. Many fellowships have been sabotaged by fear: No one had the courage to speak up in the group while a member's life fell apart. The Bible tells us: Speak the truth in love. We can't have community without candor. Soloman said: An honest answer is a sign of true friendship. Sometimes this means caring enough to lovingly confront one who is sinning or is being tempted to sin. Paul says: Brothers and sisters, if someone in your group does something wrong, you are spiritual should go to that person and gently help make him right again. Many church fellowships and small groups remain superficial because they are afraid of conflict. When everyone knows about the problem, but no one talks about it openly, this creates a sick environment of secrets where gossip thrives. Paul's solution: No more lies, no more pretense. Tell you neighbor the truth. In Christ's body we're all connected to each other, after all. when you lie to others, you end up lying to your self. after all. when you lie to others, you end up lying to your self. Real fellowship, whether in a marriage, a friendship, or your church, depends on frankness. In fact, the tunnel of conflict is the passageway to intimacy in any relationship. Until you care enough to confront and resolve the underlying barriers, you will never grow close to each other. When conflict is handled correctly, we grow closer to each other by facing and resolving our differences. The Bible says: In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery. Frankness is not a license to say anything you want, wherever and whenever you want. It is not rudeness. The Bible tells us there is a right time and right way to do everything. Thoughtless words leave lasting wounds. God tells us to speak to each other in the church as loving family members. God tells us: Never use harsh words when you correct an older man, but talk to him as if he were your father. Talk to younger men as if they were your brothers, older women as if they were your mothers, and younger women as if they were your sisters. Sadly, thousands of fellowships have been destroyed by lack of honesty. Paul had to rebuke the Corinthian church for their passive code of silence in allowing immorality in their fellowship. Paul said: You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out in the open and deal with it... Better devastation and embarrassment than damnation... You pass it off as a small thing, but it's anything but that... you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when one of your Christian companions is promiscuous or crooked, if flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating is as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? Cultivating community takes humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Self-importance, smugness, and stubborn pride destroy fellowship faster than anything else. Pride builds wall between people; humility builds bridges. Humility is the oil that smoothes and soothes relationships. The Bible says: Clothe yourselves with humility toward on another. The Bible says: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Pride blocks God's grace in our lives, which we must have in order to grow, change, heal, and help others. We receive God's grace by humbly admitting that we need it. The Bible says any time we are prideful, we are living in opposition to God! You can develop humility in very practical ways: by admitting your weakness, by being patient with others' by being open to correction, and by pointing the spotlight on others. Paul advises: Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Paul wrote: Give more honor to others than yourselves. Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don't think of themselves. Cultivating community takes courtesy. Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other's feelings, and being patient with people who irritate us. The Bible says: We must bear the burden of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others. Paul told Titus: God's people should be big-hearted and courteous. In every church and in every small group, there is always at least one difficult person, usually more than one. God put difficult people in our midst for both their benefit and ours. Difficult people are an opportunity for growth and a test for fellowship. In a family, acceptance isn't based on how smart or beautiful or talented you are. It's based on the fact that we belong to each other. We defend and protect family. The Bible says: Be devoted to each other like a loving family. Excel in showing respect for each other. The truth is, we all have quirks and annoying traits. Community has nothing to do with compatibility. The basis for our fellowship is our relationship with God. One key courtesy is to understand where people are coming from. Discover their history. When you know what they have been through, you will be more understanding. Instead of thinking how far people have to go, think about how far people have come in spite of their hurts. Another part of courtesy is not downplaying other people's doubts. Just because you don't fear something doesn't make it an invalid feeling. Real community happens when people know it is safe enough to share their doubts and fears without being judged. Cultivating community takes confidentiality. Only in the safe environment or warm acceptance and trusted confidentiality will people open up and share their deepest hurts, needs, and mistakes. Confidentiality does not mean keeping silent while your brother or sister sins. It means that what is shared in your group needs to stay in your group, and the group needs to deal with it, not gossip to others about it. God hates gossip. God hates gossip, especially when it is thinly disguised as a prayer request for someone else. God says: Gossip is spread by wicked people; they stir up trouble and break up friendships. Gossip always causes hurt and divisions, and it destroys fellowship. God is very clear that we are to confront those who cause divisions among Christians. Fellowship of the church is more important than any individual. Cultivating community takes frequency. You must have frequent, regular contact with your group in order to build genuine fellowship. Relationships take time. The Bible tells us: Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another. We are to develop the habit of meeting together. A habit is something you do with frequency, not occasionally. You have to spend time with people - a lot of time - to build deep relationships. Fellowship is shallow in a many churches because they don't spend enough time together. Community is built not on convenience, but on the conviction that I need it for spiritual health. If you want to cultivate real fellowship, it will mean meeting together even when you don't feel like it, because you believe it is important. The first Christians met together every day! The first Christians worshiped together regularly at the temple each day, me in small groups in homes for communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness. Fellowship requires an investment of time. When you look at the list of characteristics of fellowship: authenticity, mutuality, sympathy, mercy, humility, courtesy, confidentiality, and frequency, its obvious why genuine fellowship is so rare. Fellowship means giving up our self-centeredness and independence in order to become interdependent. The benefits of sharing a life together far outweigh the costs, and it prepares us for heaven. We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. 1 John 3:16 How can I help cultivate today the characteristics of real community in my small group and my church? God has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships 2 Corinthians 5:18 (GWT) Relationships are always worth restoring. Because life is all about learning how to love, God wants us to value relationships and make an effort to maintain them instead of discarding them whenever there is a rift, a hurt, or a conflict. In fact, the Bible tells us that God has given us the ministry of restoring relationships. Paul wrote: If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you...Agree with each other, love each other; be deep-spirited friends. Paul taught that our ability to get along with others is a mark of spiritual maturity. Christ wants his family to be known for our love for each other, broken fellowship is a disgraceful testimony to unbelievers. Paul wrote: Shame on you! Surely there is at least one wise person in your fellowship who can settle a dispute between fellow Christians. If you want God's blessing in your life and you want to be known as a child of God, you must learn to be a peacemaker. Jesus said: God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. Jesus said: Blessed are those who work for peace- those who actively seek to resolve conflict. Peacemakers are rate because peacemaking is hard work. Unfortunately, most of us were never taught how to resolve conflict. Peacemaking is not avoiding conflict. running from a problem, pretending id doesn't exist, or being afraid to talk about it is actually a sign of cowardice. Jesus said: the Prince of Peace, was never afraid of conflict. On occasion he provoked it for the good of everyone. Sometimes we need to avoid conflict, sometimes we need to create it, and sometimes we need to resolve it. That is why we must pray for the Holy Spirit's continual guidance. Peacemaking is also not appeasement. Always giving in, acting like a doormat, and allowing others to always run over you is not what Jesus had in mind. Jesus refused to back down on many issues, standing his ground in the face of evil opposition. As believers, God has called us to settle our relationships with each other. The seven biblical steps to restoring fellowship: (1) Talk to God before talking to the person. (2) Always take the initiative. (3) Sympathize with their feelings. (4) Confess your part of the conflict. (5) Attack the problem, not the person. (6) Cooperate as much as possible. (7) Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution. Talk to God before talking to the person. Discuss the problem with God. If you will pray about the conflict first instead of gossiping to a friend, you will often discover that either God changes your heart or he changes the other person without your help. All your relationships would go smoother if you would just pray more about them. As David did with his psalms, use prayer to ventilate vertically. Tell God your frustrations. Cry out to God. He's never surprised or upset by your anger, hurt, insecurity, or any other emotion. So tell God exactly how you feel. Most conflict is rooted in unmet needs. Some of these needs can only be met by God. When you expect anyone to meet a need that only God can fulfill, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and bitterness. No one can meet all your needs except God. James wrote: What causes fights and quarrels among you? You want something but don't get it...You do not have, because you do not ask God. Instead of looking to God, we look to others to make us happy and then get angry when they fail us. God says: Why don't you come to me first? Always take the initiative. It doesn't matter whether you are the offender or offended: God expects you to make the first move. Restoring broken fellowship is so important, Jesus commanded that it even take priority over group worship. Jesus said: If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God. When fellowship is strained or broken, plan a peace conference immediately. Delay only deepens resentment and makes matters worse. In conflict, time heals nothing; it causes hurt to fester. Acting quickly also reduces the spiritual damage to you. The Bible says sin, including unresolved conflict, blocks our fellowship with God and keeps our prayers from being answered. Job's friend reminded him: To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do. You are only hurting yourself with your anger. The success of a peace conference often depends on choosing the right time and place to meet. Don't have a peace meeting when either of you are tired or rushed or will be interrupted. Sympathize with their feelings. Use your ears more than your mouth. Before attempting to solve any disagreement you must first listen to the people's feelings. Paul advised: Look out for one another's interests, not just your own. When making peace focus on their feelings, not the facts. Begin with sympathy, not solutions. Don't try to talk the people out of how they feel. Just listen and let them unload emotionally without being defensive. Feelings are not always true or logical. In fact, resentment makes us act and think in foolish ways. David admitted: When my thoughts are bitter and my feelings were hurt, I was as stupid as an animal. We all act beastly when hurt. The Bible says: A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. Patience comes from wisdom, and wisdom comes from hearing the perspectives of others. Listening says: I value your opinion, I care about our relationship, and you matter to me. The cliche is true: People don't care what we know until they know we care. To restore fellowship we must bear the burden of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others.... let's please the other fellow, not ourselves, and do what is for his good. It is a sacrifice to patiently absorb the anger of others, especially if it's unfounded. Jesus endured unfounded, malicious anger in order to save you. Christ did not indulge his own feelings... As scripture says: The insults of those who insult you fall on me. Confess your part of the conflict. If you are serious about restoring a relationship, you should begin with admitting your own mistakes or sin. Jesus said: First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friends eye. Since we all have blind spots, you many need to ask a third party to help you evaluate your own actions before meeting with the person whom you have a conflict. Also ask God to show you how much of the problem is your fault. The Bible says: If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. Confession is a powerful tool for reconciliation. Often the way we handle a conflict creates a bigger hurt that the original problem itself. When you begin by humbly admitting your mistakes, it defuses the other person's anger and disarms their attach because they were probably expecting you to be defensive. Don't make excuses or shift the blame; just honestly own up to any part you have played in the conflict. Accept responsibility for your mistakes and ask for forgiveness. Attack the problem, not the person. You cannot fix the problem if you're consumed with fixing the blame. You must choose between the two. The Bible says: A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. You will never get your point across by being cross, so choose your words wisely. A soft answer is always better than a sarcastic one. In resolving conflict, how you say it is as important as what you say. If you say it offensively, it will be received defensively. God tells us: A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is. Nagging never works... You are never persuasive when you're abrasive. Paul sums it up: Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. Cooperate as much as possible. Paul said: Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Peace always has a price tag. Sometimes peace costs our pride; it often costs our self-centeredness. For the sake of fellowship, do your best to compromise, adjust to others, and show preference to what they need. Jesus says: You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family. Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to agree about everything. Reconciliation focuses on the relationship, while resolution focuses on the problem. When we focus on reconciliation, the problem often loses significance and often become irrelevant. We can reestablish a relationship even when we are unable to resolve our differences. Christians often have legitimate, honest disagreements and differing opinions, but we can disagree without being disagreeable. The same diamond looks different from different angles. God expects unity, not uniformity, and we can walk arm-in-arm without seeing eye-to-eye on every issue. Reconciliation means you bury the hatchet, not necessarily the issue. With whom do you need to restore fellowship? Don't delay another second. Peter said: Work hard at living in peace with others. But when you work for peace, you are doing what God would do. God calls peacemakers his children. You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way. Ephesians 4:3 (NCV) Most of all, let love guide your life, for then the whole church will stay together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14 (LB) It is your job to protect the unity of your church. Unity in the church is so important that the New Testament gives more attention to it than to either heaven or hell. God deeply desires that we experience oneness and harmony with each other. Unit is the soul of fellowship. Destroy fellowship, and you rip the heart out of Christ's Body. Fellowship is the essence, the core, of how God intends for us to experience life together in his church. Our supreme model for unity is the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy spirit are completely unified as one. God himself is the highest example of sacrificial love, humble other-centeredness, and perfect harmony. Just like every parent, our heavenly Father enjoys watching his children get along with each other. In his final moments before being arrested, Jesus prayed passionately for our unity. It was our unity that was uppermost in his mind during those agonizing hours. That is how significant this unit subject is. Nothing one earth is more valuable to God than his church. God paid the highest price for the church, and he wants it protected, especially from the devastating damage that is caused by division, conflict, and disharmony. God's family, it is your responsibility to protect the unity where you fellowship. You are commissioned by Jesus Christ to do everything possible to preserve the unity, protect the fellowship, and promote harmony in your church family and among all believers. The Bible says: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. The Bible gives us practical advice on how to keep unity: (1) Focus on what we have in common, not our differences. (2) Be realistic in your expectations. (3) Refuse to listen to gossip. (4) Practice God's method of conflict resolution. (5) Support your pastor and leaders. Focus on what we have in common, not our differences. Paul tells us: Let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of one another's character. As believers we share one Lord, one body, one purpose, one Father, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, and one love. As believers we share the same salvation, the same life, and same future- factors far more important than any differences we could enumerate. We must remember that it was God who chose to give us different personalities, backgrounds, races, and preferences, so we should value and enjoy those differences, not merely tolerate them. God wants unity, non uniformity. But for unity's sake we must never let differences divide us. We must stay focused on what matters most- learning to love each other as Christ has loved us, and fulfilling God's five purposes for each of us and his church. Conflict is usually a sign that the focus has shifted to less important issues. When we focus on personalities, preferences, interpretations, styles, or methods, divisions always happens. But if we concentrate on loving each other and fulfilling God's purposes, harmony results. Paul pleaded: Let there be real harmony so there won't be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. Be realistic in your expectations. Once you discover what God intends real fellowship to be, it is easy to become discouraged by the gap between the ideal and the real in your church. Yet we must passionately love the church in spite of its imperfections. Longing for the idea while criticizing the real is evidence of immaturity. On the other hand, settling for the real without striving for the ideal is complacency. Maturity is living with tension. Other believers will disappoint you and let you down, but that's no excuse to stop fellowship with them. Believers are you family, even when they don't act like it, you can't just walk out on them. God tells us: Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love. People become disillusioned with the church for many understandable reasons. Just remember that the church is made up of real sinners, including ourselves. Because we're sinners, we hurt each other, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally. But instead of leaving the church, we need to stay and work it out if at all possible. Reconciliation, not running away, is the road to stronger character and deeper fellowship. Divorcing your church at the first sign of disappointment or disillusionment is a mark of immaturity. God has things he wants to teach you, and others too. Besides, there is not perfect church to escape to. Every church has its own set of weaknesses and problems. You'll soon be disappointed again. If a church must be perfect to satisfy you, the same perfection will exclude you form membership. Dietrich Bonhoffer, martyred for resisting the Nazis, wrote: disillusionment with our local church is a good thing because it destroys our false expectations of perfection. The sooner we give up the illusion that a church must be perfect in order to love it, the sooner we quit pretending and start admitting we're all imperfect and need grace. Every church could put out a sign: No perfect people need apply. The church is a place only for those who admit they are sinners, need grace, and want to grow. Choose to encourage rather than criticize. It is always easier to stand on the sidelines and take shots at those who are serving than it is to get involved and make contributions. God warns us over and over not to criticize, or judge each other. When you criticize what another believer is doing in faith and from sincere conviction, you are interfering with God's business. What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right. Paul adds that we must not stand in judgement or look down on other believers whose convictions differ from our own. Why then, criticize you brother's actions, why try to make him look small? When shall all be judged one day, not by each other's standards or even our own, but by the standard of Christ. Whenever I judge another believer, four things instantly happen: (1) I lose fellowship with God (2) I expose my own pride and insecurity (3) I set myself up to be judged by God (4) I harm the fellowship of the church. A critical spirit is a costly vice. The Bible calls Satan: the accuser of our brothers. Its the Devil's job to blame, complain, and criticize member of God's family. Anytime we blame, criticize, and complain, we're being duped into doing Satan's work for him. Remember, other Christians, no matter how much you disagree with them, they are not the real enemy. The Bible says: Let's agree to us all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault. Refuse to listen to gossip. Gossip is passing on information when you are neither part of the problem or part of the solution. You know spreading gossip is wrong, but you should not listen to it, either, if you want to protect the church. Listening to gossip is like accepting stolen property, and it makes you just as guilty of the crime. When someone begins to gossip to you, have the courage to say, please stop. I don't need to know this. People who gossip to you will also gossip about you. They cannot be trusted. If you listen to gossip, God says you are a troublemaker. God says: Troublemakers listen to troublemakers. These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. It is said that in God's flock, the greatest wounds usually come from other sheep, not wolves. Paul warned about cannibal Christians who devour one another and destroy fellowship. The Bible says: A gossip reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a babbler. The fastest way to end a church or small group conflict is to lovingly confront those who are gossiping and insist they stop it. Solomon pointed out: Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and tensions disappear when gossip stops. Practice God's method for conflict resolution. Jesus gave the church a simple three step process for conflict resolution: (1) If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him - work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend (2) If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. (3) If he still won't listen, tell the church. During conflict, it is tempting to complain to a third party rather than courageously speak the truth in love to the person you're upset with. This makes the matter worse. In resolving conflict, you should go directly to the person involved. Support you pastor and leaders. There are no perfect leaders, but God gives leaders the responsibility and the authority to maintain the unity of the church. Pastors are also given the impossible task of trying to make everyone happy, which even Jesus could not do! The Bible is clear: Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute tot he joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them? Pastors will one day stand before God and give account of how well they watched over you. But you are accountable too. You will give account to God of how well you followed your leaders. We protect the fellowship when we honor those who serve us by leading. We are commanded: Honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love! I challenge you to accept your responsibility to protect and promote the unity of your church. Put a full effort into it, and God will be pleased. One reason God puts us in a church family - to learn unselfishness. In community we learn to say we instead of I and our instead of mine. God says: Don't think only of your own good. Think of other Christians and what is best for them. God blesses churches that are unified. What are you doing personally to make your church family more warm and loving? There are many people in your community who are looking for love and a place to belong. The truth is, everyone needs and wants to be loved, and when people find a church where members genuinely love and care for each other, you would have to lock the doors to keep them away. What am I personally doing to protect the unity of my church family right now? You were created to become like Christ. Let you roots grow down into Christ and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth. Colossians 2:7 (LB) God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son... We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. Romans 8:29 (Msg) We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. Colossians 1:15 (Msg) You were created to become like Christ. From the very beginning, God's plan has been to make you like his Son, Jesus. God announced his intention at Creation: Then God said, Let us make human beings in our own image and likeness. In all of creation, only human beings, are made in God's image. Being made in God's image is a great privilege and gives us dignity. Like God we are spiritual beings. Our spirits are immortal and will outlast our earthly bodies. Like God we are intellectual - We can think, reason, and solve problems. Like God we are rational - We can give and receive real love. Like God we have a moral consciousness - We can discern right from wrong, which makes us accountable to God. The Bible says that all people, not just believers, possess part of the image of God. Murder and abortion are wrong. The image of God that we are is incomplete and has been damaged and distorted by sin. So God sent Jesus on a mission to restore the full image that we have lost. What does the full image or likeness of God look like? The Bible says Jesus. The Bible says Jesus is the exact likeness of God, the visible image of the invisible God, and the exact representation of his being. People often use the phrase: like father, like son to refer to family resemblance. God wants his children to bear his image and likeness, too. God wants his children to bear his image and likeness, too. The Bible says: You were...created to be like God, Truly righteous and holy. Let me be absolutely clear: you will never become God, or even a God. That prideful lie is Satan's oldest temptation. Satan promised Adam and Eve that if they followed his advice, ye shall be as gods. God doesn't want you to become a god; he wants you to become godly - taking on his values, attitudes, and character. The Bible says: Take on an entirely new way of life - a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you. God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. God wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. Becoming like Christ does not mean loosing your own personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn't want to destroy it. Chrislikeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality. God wants you to develop the kind of character described in the beatitudes of Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit. Every time you forget that character is one of God's purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances. Life is supposed to be difficult! It's what enables us to grow. Remember earth is not heaven! The self-absorbed perspective treats God as a genie who simply exists to serve you in your selfish pursuit of personal fulfillment. God is not your servant, and if you fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, either you will become severely disillusioned or you will live in denial of reality. Never forget that life is not about you! You exist for God's purposes, not vice versa. Why would God provide heaven on earth when he's planned the real thing for you in eternity? God gives us our time on earth to build and strengthen our character for heaven. It is the Holy Spirit's Job to produce Christlike character in you. The Bible says: As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. The process of changing us to be more like Jesus is called sanctification. You cannot reproduce the character of Jesus on your own strength. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to make the changes God wants to make in our lives. The Bible says: God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. The Holy Spirit nudges us with a gentle whisper. We allow Christ to live through us. For this is the secret; Christ lives in you. When you choose to do the right thing in situations and then trust God's Spirit to give us his power, love, faith, and wisdom to do it. Since God's Spirit lives inside of us, his power, love, faith, and wisdom are always available for the asking. We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit's work. The Holy Spirit releases his power the moment you take a step of faith. Obedience unlocks God's power. God waits for you to act first. Move ahead in you weakness, doing the right thing in spite of your fears and feelings. The Bible compares spiritual growth to a seed, a building, and a child growing up. Seeds must be planted and cultivated, buildings must be built, they don't just appear, children must eat and exercise to grow, and so to your spiritual growth. While effort has nothing to do with your salvation, it has to do with your spiritual growth. In the New Testament we are told to make every effort in our growth toward becoming like Jesus. You don't sit around and wait for it to happen. Paul explains in Ephesians: 4:22-24 our three responsibilities in becoming like Christ: (1) We must first choose to let go of old ways of acting, (2) We must change the way we think (3) We must put on the character of Christ by developing new, godly habits. We must first choose to let go of old ways of acting. Paul says: Everything...connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! We must change the way we think. Paul says: Let the Spirit change your way of thinking. The BIble says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. The Greek work for transformed, metamorphosis, is used today to describe the amazing change in a caterpillar goes through in becoming a butterfly. It is a beautiful picutre of what happens to us spiritually when we allow God to direct our thoughts. We are changed from the inside out, we become more beautiful, and we are set free to soar to new heights. We must put on the character of Christ by developing new, godly habits. Your character is essentially the sum of your habits. The Bible says: Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. God uses his Word, people, and circumstances to mold us. His Word, people, and circumstances are indispensable for character development. God's Word provides the truth we need to grow, God's people provide the support we need to grow, and circumstances provide the environment we need to practice Christlikeness. God uses people. He usually prefers to work through people rather than perform miracles, so that we will depend on each other for fellowship. He wants us to grow together. In many religions, the people considered to be the most spiritually mature and holy are those who isolate themselves from others on mountaintop monasteries, uninfected by contact with other people. But this is a gross misunderstanding. Spiritual maturity is not a solitary, individual pursuit! You cannot grow to Christlikeness in isolation. You must be around other people and interact with them. You need to be part of a church and community. True spiritual maturity is all about learning to love like Jesus, and you can't practice being like Jesus without being in relationship with other people. Remember, it's all about love - loving God and loving others. Becoming like Christ is a long, slow process of growth. Spiritual maturity is neither instant nor automatic; it is a gradual, progressive development that will take the rest of your life. Paul said: This will continue until we are...mature, just as Christ is, and will be completely like him. You are a work in progress. Your spiritual transformation in developing the character of Jesus will take the rest of your life, and even then it won't be completed here on earth. The Bible say when we are finally able to see Jesus perfectly, we will become perfectly like him. The Bible says: We can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. Most confusion in the Christian life comes from ignoring the simple truth that God is far more interested in building your character than he is anything else. What God cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner. God is far more interested in what you are than in what you do. We are human beings, no human doings. God is much more concerned about your character than your career, because you will take your character into eternity, but not your career. The Bible warns: Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out... Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best of you out, develops well-formed maturity in you. The Bible warns: Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. The Bible says: fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out... The Bible says: Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best of you out, develops well-formed maturity in you. You must make a counter-culture decision to focus on becoming more like Jesus. Otherwise, other forces like peers, parents, coworkers, and culture will try to mold you into their image. Sadly, a quick review of many popular Christian books reveals that many believers have abandoned living for God's great purposes and settled for personal fulfillment and emotional stability. Jesus did not die on the cross just so we could live comfortable, well adjusted lives. God wants to make us like himself before he takes us to heaven. This is our greatest privilege, our immediate responsibility, and our ultimate destiny. As the Sprit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. In what area of my life do I need to ask for the Spirit's power to be like Christ today? God want us to grow up... like Christ in everything. Ephesians 4:15a (Msg) We are not meant to remain as children. Ephesians 4:14a (Ph) God wants you to grow up. You heavenly Father's goal is for you to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ. Sadly, millions of Christians grow older but never grow up. Many Christians are stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy, remaining in diapers and booties. The reason is that they never intended to grow. Spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes intentional commitment. You must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow, and persist in growing. Discipleship-the process of becoming like Christ- always begins with a decision. Jesus calls up, and we respond: come, be my disciple,' Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. When the first disciples chose to follow Jesus, they didn't understand all the implications of their decision. The simply responded to Jesus' invitation. Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way, they will define you. Tell me what you are committed to, and I'll tell you what you will be in twenty years. We become whatever we are committed to. Many are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life. Others make half-hearted commitments to competing values, which leads to frustration and mediocrity. Others make a full commitment to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter. Every choice has eternal consequences, so you had better choose wisely. Peter warns: Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lines you should be living! God's part is your part. Christlikeness is the result of making Christlike choices and depending on the his Spirit to help you fulfill those choices. Once you decide to get serious about becoming like Christ, you must being to act in new ways. You will need to let go of some old routines, develop some new habits, intentionally change the way you think. The Bible says: Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Two parts of spiritual growth: Work out and work in. The work out is your responsibility, and work in is God's role. Spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between you and the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit works with us, not just in us. It does not say work for you salvation, because you can't add anything to what Jesus already did. When you work out a puzzle, you already have all the pieces, your task is to put them together. God has given you a new life; now you are responsible to develop it with fear and trembling. That means take your spiritual growth seriously. When people are casual about their spiritual growth, it shows they don't understand the eternal implications. Changing your autopilot. To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is thought. Every behavior is motivated by belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude. God revealed: Be careful how you think; you life is happed by your thoughts. Yes, willpower can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress because you haven't dealt with the root cause. There is a better and easier way to change: Change you autopilot- The way you think. The Bible says: Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Your first step to spiritual growth is to start changing the way you think. Change always starts first in your mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act. Paul said: There must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. To be like Christ you must develop the mind of Christ. The New Testament calls this mental shift repentance, which in Greek literally means to change your mind. You repent whenever you change the way you think by adopting how God thinks - about yourself, sin, God, other people, life, your future, and everything else. We are commanded to think the same way that Christ Jesus thought. There are two parts to thinking like Christ: (1) Stop thinking immature thoughts, which are self-centered and self-seeking. (2) Start thinking maturely, which focuses on others, not yourself. The bible says: Stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. Babies by nature are completely selfish. They think only of themselves and their own needs. They are incapable of giving; they can only receive. That is immature thinking. Unfortunately, many people never grow beyond immature thinking and are incapable of giving. The Bible says selfish thinking is the source of sinful behavior. Those who live following their sinful selves think only about things that their sinful selves want. Paul concluded that thinking of others is the mark of maturity. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I become a man, I put childish ways behind me. The Christian life is far more than creeds and convictions; it includes conduct and character. Our deeds must be consistent with our creeds, and our beliefs must be backed up with Christlike behavior. Christianity is not a religion or philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle. The core of that lifestyle is thinking of others, as Jesus did, instead of ourselves. The Bible says: We should think of their good and try to help them by doing what pleases them. Even Christ did not try to please himself. Thinking of others is the heart of Christlikeness and the best evidence of spiritual growth. This kind of thinking is unnatural, counter-cultural, rare, and difficult. God has given us his Spirit. That's why we don't think the same way that the people of this world think. It is never too late to start growing. Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is good and pleasing to him and is perfect. Romans 12:2b (TEV) What is on area where I need to stop thinking my way and start thinking God's way? 23 People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God. Matthew 4:4 (NLT) God's...Gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need. Acts 20:32 (Msg) The truth transforms us. Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with truth. Jesus prayed: Sanctify them by the truth; you word is truth. Sanctification requires revelation. The spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. To become like Jesus, we must fill our lives with his Word. The Bible says: Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. God's Word is unlike any other word. It is alive. Jesus said, The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. When God speaks, things change. Everything around you - all of creation - exists because God said it. God spoke it all into existence. Without God's Word you would not even be alive. James points out: God decided to give life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things God made. God's word generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the Devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being, and gurantees our future forever! We cannot live without the Word of God! Never take it for granted. You should consider the Word as essential to your life as food. Job said: I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. God's Word is the spiritual nourishment you must have to fulfill your purpose. The Bible is called our milk, bread, solid food, and sweet desert. This four-course meal is the Spirit's menu for spiritual strength and growth. Peter advises us: Crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. There are more Bibles in print today than ever before, but a Bible on the shelf is worthless. Millions of believers are plagued with spiritual anorexia, starving to death from spiritual malnutrition. To be a healthy disciple of Jesus, feeding on God's Word must be your first priority. Jesus called it abiding. Jesus said: If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of mine. Abiding in God's Word includes three activities: (1) I must accept its authority (2) I must assimilate its truth (3) I must apply its principles I must accept the authority of the Word of God. The Bible must become the authoritative standard of my life; the compass I rely on for direction, the counsel I listen to for making wise decisions, and the benchmark I use for evaluating everything. The Bible must always have the first and last word in my life. Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities: culture (everyone is doing it), tradition (we've always done it), reason (it seemed logical), or emotion (it just felt right). What we need is a perfect standard that will never lead us in the wrong direction. Only God's Word meets that need. Solomon said: Every word of God is flawless. Paul explains: Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. The most important decision you can make today is to settle this issue of what will be the ultimate authority for your life. Determine to ask first, what does the Bible say? when making decisions. Paul stated: I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets. I must assimilate truth in the Word of God. It is not enough just to believe the Bible; I must fill my mind with it so that the Holy Spirit can transform me with the truth. There are five ways to be transformed by truth: (1) You can receive it (2) read it (3) research it (4) remember it (5) and reflect on it. You receive God's Word when you listen and accept it with an open, receptive attitude. The parable of the Sowa illustrates how our receptiveness determines whether or not God's Word takes rood in our lives and bears fruit. Jesus identified three unreceptive attitudes (1) a closed mind (hard soil) (2) a superficial mind (shallow soil) (3) a distracted mind (soil with weeds) ... and then he said: CONSIDER CAREFULLY HOW YOU LISTEN. For most of the 2000-year history of the church, only priests got to personally read the Bible, but now billions of us have access to it. Many believers are more faithful to reading their daily newspaper than their Bibles. We can't watch television for three hours, then read the Bible for three minutes and expect to grow. Many who claim to believe the Bible from cover to cover have never read it from cover to cover. If you will just read the Bible just fifteen minutes a day, you will read completely through it once a year. If you cut out one thirty-minute television program a day and read your Bible instead, you will read through the entire Bible twice a year. Daily Bible reading will keep you in range of God's voice. God instructed the kings of Israel to always keep a copy of his Word nearby: He should keep it with him, all the time and read from it every day of his life. Don't just keep the Bible near you; read it regularly! A simple tool that is helpful for this is a daily Bible reading plan. Researching, or studying, the Bible is another practical way to abide in the Word. The difference between reading and studying the Bible involves two additional activities: asking questions and writing down your insights. Anytime you feel you are not learning anything from a sermon or Bible teacher, you should check you attitude, especially for pride, because God can speak through even the most boring teacher when you are humble and receptive. James advises: IN a humble (gentle, modest) spirit, receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted in your hearts contains the power to save your souls. You haven't really studied the Bible unless you've written your thoughts down on paper or computer. You will discover far more if you pause and ask such simple questions as who? what? when? why? and how? The Bible says: Truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy. You capacity to remember is a God-given gift. You may think you have a poor memory, but the truth is, you have millions of ideas, truths, facts, and figures memorized. You remember what is important to you. God's Word is important, you will take the time to remember it. There are enormous benefits to memorizing Bible versus. Memorizing Bible versus will help you resist temptation, make wise decisions, reduce stress, build confidence, offer good advise, and share your faith with others. Your memory is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it will become, and memorizing Scripture will become easier. You can memorize Scripture anywhere: while working or even exercising or driving or waiting or at bedtime. The three keys to memorizing scripture are: Review, review, and review. The Bible says: Remember what Christ taught, and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise. The Bible calls reflecting on God's word meditation. For many, the idea of meditating conjures up images of putting your mind in neutral and letting it wander. This is the exact opposite of biblical meditation. Meditation is focused thinking. It takes serious effort. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate. Worry is focused thinking on something negative. Meditation is doing the same thing, only focusing on God's Word instead of your problem. No other habit can do more to trasform your life and make you more like Jesus than a daily reflection on Scripture. As we take the time to contemplate God's truth, seriously reflecting on the example of Christ we are transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory. You will be amazed at the benefits God has promised to those who take the time to reflect on his Word throughout the day. One of the reasons God called David a man after my own heart is that David loved to reflect on God's Word. David said: How I love you teaching! I think about them all day long. Serious reflection on God's truth is a key to answer prayer and the secret to successful living. Receiving, reading, researching, remembering, and reflecting on the Word are all useless if we fail to put them into practice. We must become doers of the Word. Becoming doers of the word is the hardest step of all, because Satan fights it so intensely. Satan doesn't mind you going to Bible studies as long as you don't do anything with what you learn. We fool ourselves when we assume that just because we have heard or read or studied a truth, we have internalized it. Actually, you can be so busy going into the next class or seminar or Bible conference that you have no time to implement what you've learned. Without implementation, all our Bible studies are worthless. Jesus said: Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Jesus also pointed out that God's blessing comes from obeying the truth, not just knowing it. Jesus said: Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Another reason we avoid personal application of God's truth is that it can be difficult or even painful. The truth will set you free, but first it may make you miserable! God's word exposes our motives, points out our faults, rebukes our sin, and expects us to change. It's human nature to resist change, so applying God's Word is hard work. This is why it is so important to discuss you personal applications with other people. I cannot overstate the value of being a part of a small Bible study discussion group. In a Bible study group we always learn from others truths we would never learn on our own. Other people will help you see insights you would miss and help you apply God's truth in a practical way. The best way to become a doer of the word is to always write out an action step as a result of your reading or studying or reflection on God's Word. Action steps should be personal (involving you), practical (something you can do), and provable (with a deadline to do it). Every application of God's truth will involve either your relationship with God, your relationship with others, or your personal character. What has God already told you to do in his Word that you haven't started doing yet? D.L. Moody said: The Bible is not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives. Point to Ponder: The truth transforms me. If you continue in my Word, then you are disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32 (KJV) For our light and momentary troubles are achieved for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corrinthians 4:17 (NIV) It is the fire of suffering that brings forth the gold of godliness. Madame Guyon God has a purpose behind every problem. God uses circumstances to develop our character. God depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the Bible. Jesus warned us that we would have problems in the world. No one is immune to pain or insulated from suffering, and no one gets to skate through life problem free. Life is a series of problems. Every time you solve one problem, another is waiting to take its place. Not all problems are big, but all are significant in God's growth process for you. Peter says: Don't be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you. God uses problems to draw you closer to himself. The Bible says: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit. Our most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days - when you heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you're out of options, when the pain is great - and you turn to God alone. It is during suffering that we learn to pray our most authentic, heartfelt, honest-to-God prayers. When we're in pain, we don't have the energy for superficial prayers. Jonei Eareckson Tada notes: But only in suffering will we know Jesus. We learn things about God in suffering that we can't learn any other way. God could have kept Joseph out of jail. God could have kept Daniel out of the lion's den. God could have kept Jeremiah from being tossed into a slimy pit. God could have kept Paul from being shipwrecked three times. God could have kept three Hebrew young men from being thrown in to a blazing furnace - but he didn't. Problems force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves. Paul testified: We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us. You'll never know that God is all you need until God is all you've got. Regardless of the cause, none of your problems could happen without God's permission. Everything that happens to a child of God is Father-filtered, and he intends to use it for good even when Satan and others mean it for bad. Because God is sovereignty in control, accidents are just incidents in God's good plan for you. Every day of your life was written on God's calendar before you were born, everything that happens to you has spiritual significance. Everything! Romans 8:28-29 explains: We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son. Everything that happens to you has spiritual significance. There are many unhappy endings on earth. We live in a fallen world. Only in heaven is everything done perfectly the way God intends. Because we live in a fallen world, we are told to pray: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Our hope in difficult times is not based on positive thinking, wishful thinking, or natural optimism. It is a certainty based on the truths that God is in complete control of our universe and that he loves us. There's a Grand Designer behind everything. Your life is not a result of random chance, fate, or luck. There is a master plan. His is His story. God is pulling the strings. We make mistakes, but God never does. God cannot make a mistake, because he is God. God's plan for your life involves all that happens to you - including your mistakes, your sins, and your hurts. It includes illness, debt, disasters, divorce, and death of loved ones. God can bring good out of the worst evil. The events in your life work together in God's plan. They are not isolated acts, but interdependent parts of the process to make you like Christ. To bake a cake you must use flour, salt, raw eggs, sugar and oil. Eaten individually they are distasteful, but bake them together they become delicious. If you will give God all your distasteful, unpleasant experiences, he will blend them together for good. Much of what happens in our world is evil and bad, but God specializes in bringing good out of it. God's purpose is greater than our problems, our pain, or even our sin. All things work for bad for those living in opposition to God and insist on having their own way. God's purpose is that we become like his Son. Everything God allows to happen in your life is permitted for that purpose! We are like jewels, shaped with the hammer and chisel of adversity. If a jewelers hammer isn't strong enough to chip off our rough edges, God will use a sledgehammer. If we are really stubborn, he uses a jackhammer. God will use whatever it takes. Every problem is a character building opportunity, and the more difficult it is, the greater the potential for building spiritual muscle and moral fiber. Paul said: You know that these troubles produce patience, And patience produces character. What happens outwardly in your life is not as important as what happens inside you. You circumstances are temporary, but your character will last forever. The Bible often compares trials to a metal refiner's fire that burns away the impurities. Peter said: These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold. A silversmith once asked, How do you know when the silver is pure? He replied: when I see my reflection in it. When you've been refined by trials, people see Jesus' reflection in you. James said: Under pressure your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. The Bible says: Jesus learned obedience through suffering and was made perfect through suffering. Why would God exempt us from what he allowed his own Son to experience? Paul said: We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him! Problems don't automatically produce what God intends. Many people become bitter, rather than better, and never grow up. You have to respond the way Jesus would. Remember that God's plan is good. God knows what is best for you and has your best interests at heart. God told Jeremiah: The plans I have for you are plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Joseph said: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. Whenever God says no to your request for relief, remember, God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. It is vital that you stay focused on God's plan, not your pain or problem. Staying focused on God's plan is how Jesus endured the pain of the cross, and we are urged to follow in his example. Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards. Corrieten Boom, who suffered in a Nazi death camp, explained: If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look to Christ, you'll be at rest! You focus will determine your feelings. The secret of endurance is to remember that your pain is temporary but your reward will be eternal. Paul said: Our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! Don't give in to short-term thinking. Stay focused on the end result. If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. The Bible tells us to give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Notice that God tells us to give thanks in all circumstances, not for all circumstances. God doesn't expect you to be thankful for evil, for sin, for suffering, or for their painful consequences in the world. Instead, God wants you to thank him that he will use your problems to fulfill his purposes. The Bible says: Rejoice in the Lord always. The Bible does NOT say, rejoice over your pain. That's masochism. You rejoice in the lord. No matter what's happening. No matter what's happening, you can rejoice in God's love, care, wisdom, power, and faithfulness. Jesus said: Be full of joy at that time, because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. We can also rejoice in knowing God is going through the pain with us. We do not serve a distant and detached God who spouts encouraging cliches safely from the sideline. God enters into our suffering. God will never leave us on our own. Be patient and persistent. The Bible says: Let the process go on until your endurance is fully developed, and you will find that you have become men of mature character...with no weak spots. Character building is a slow process. Whenever we try to avoid or escape the difficulties in life, we short-circuit the process, delay our growth, and actually end up with a worse kind of pain. You know your maturing when you begin to see the hand of God in the random, baffling, and seemingly pointless circumstances of life. If you are facing trouble right now, don't ask "why me?" instead ask, "what do you want me to learn?" You need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion. Don't give up. Grow up! Point to ponder: There is a purpose behind every problem. What problem in life has caused the greatest growth in me? Happy is the man who doesn't give in and do wrong when he is tempted, for afterwards he will get as his reward a crown of life that God has promised those who love him. James 1:12 (LB) My temptation have been my masters in divinity Martin Luther Every temptation is an opportunity to do good. On the path to spiritual maturity, even temptation becomes a stepping-stone rather than a stumbling block when you realize that it is just as much an occasion to do the right thing as it is to do the wrong thing. Temptation simply provides the choice. While temptation is Satan's primary weapon to destroy you, God wants to use it to develop you. Every time you choose to do good instead of sin, you are growing in the character of Christ. When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Jesus is perfect love, joy, peace, patience, and all the other embodied in a single person. To have the fruit of the spirit is to be like Christ. Fruit always matures and ripens slowly. God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you are tempted to express the exact opposite quality! Character development always involves a choice, and temptation provides that opportunity. For instance, God teaches us to love by putting some unloved people around us. It takes no character to love people who are lovely and loving to you. God teaches us real joy in the midst of sorrow, when we turn to him. Happiness depends on external circumstances, but joy is based on your relationship with God. God develops real peace within us, not by making things go the way we planned, but by allowing times of chaos and confusion. Anyone can be peaceful watching a beautiful sunset or relaxing on vacation. We learn real peace by choosing to trust God in circumstances in which we are tempted to worry or be afraid. Patience is developed in circumstances in which we're forced to wait and are tempted to be angry or have a short fuse. God uses the opposite situation of each fruit to allow us a choice. You can't claim to be good if you've never had the opportunity to be unfaithful. Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest. Humility grows when we refuse to be prideful. Endurance develops every time you reject the temptation to give up. Everytime you defeat a temptation, you become more like Jesus. God develops the fruit of the Spirit by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you're tempted to express the exact opposite quality! It helps to know that Satan is entirely predictable. He has used the same strategy and old tricks since Creation. All temptation follow the same pattern. Paul said: We are very familiar with his evil schemes. From the Bible we learn temptation follows a four step process: (1) Satan identifies a desire inside of you. (2) Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about the sin. (3) Satan is the father of lies, anything he tells you will be untrue or a half-truth. (4) disobedience, you finally act on the thought. Satin identifies a desire inside of you. Temptation starts when Satan suggests (with a thought) that you give in to an evil desire, or that you fulfill a legitimate desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time. Always be aware of shortcuts. They are often temptations! Satan whispers: You deserve it! You should have it now! It will be exciting...comforting...or make you feel better. We think temptation lies around us, but God says it begins within us. If you didn't have the internal desire, the temptation could not attract you. Temptation always starts in your mind, not in circumstances. Jesus said: For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within. James tells us: a whole army of evil desires within you. Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about sin: Is it really wrong? Did God really say not to do it? Didn't God mean this prohibition for someone else or some other time? Doesn't God want me to be happy? The Bible warns: Watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. Satan is incapable of telling the truth and is called the Father of lies. Anything Satan tells you will be untrue or just half-true. Satan offers his lie to replace what God has already said in his Word. Satan says: You will not die. You'll be wiser like God. You can get away with it. No one will ever know. It will solve your problem. Besides, everyone else is doing it. It is only a little sin. But a little sin is like being a little pregnant: it will eventually show itself. You finally act on the thought you've been toying with in your mind. What began as an idea gets birthed into behavior. You give in to whatever got your attention. You believe Satan's lies and fall into the trap. James warns: We are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then your evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my dear friends! Understanding how temptation works is in itself helpful, but there are specific steps you need to take to overcome it: (1) Refuse to be intimidated (2) Recognize your pattern of temptation and be prepared for it. (3) Request God's Help. Many Christians are frightened and demoralized by tempting thoughts, feeling guilty that they aren't beyond temptation. Many Christians feel ashamed just for being tempted. This is a misunderstanding of maturity. You will never outgrow temptation. You will never outgrow temptation. In once sense you can consider temptation a compliment. Satan does not have to tempt those who are already doing his evil will; they are already his. Temptation is a sign that Satan hates you, not a sign of weakness or worldliness. Temptation is also a normal part of being human and living in a fallen world. Be realistic about the inevitability of temptation; you will never be able to avoid it completely. The Bible says: when you're tempted,... -not if. Paul advises: Remember that the temptations that come into your life are not different from what others experience. It is not sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted, yet he never sinned. Temptation only becomes a sin when you give in to it. Martin Luther said: You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a next in your hair. You can't keep the Devil from suggesting thoughts, but you can choose not to dwell or act on them. Many people don't know the difference between physical attraction or sexual arousal, and lust. They are not the same. God made every one of us sexual beings, and that is good. Attraction and arousal are natural, spontaneous, God-given responses to physical beauty, while lust is a deliberate act of the will. Lust is a choice to commit in your mind what you'd like to do with your body. You can be attracted or even aroused without choosing to sin by lusting. Many people, especially Christian men, feel guilty that their God-given hormones are working. Attraction is not lust until you begin to dwell on it. The closer you grow to God, the more Satan will try to tempt you. The moment you became God's child, Satan, like a mobster hit man, put out a contract on you. You are his enemy and he's plotting your downfall. Sometimes while you are praying, Satan will suggest a bizarre or evil thought just to distract you and shame you. Don't be alarmed or ashamed b y this, but realize that Satan fears your prayers and will try anything to stop them. Instead of condemning yourself with, how could I think such a thought? treat the distraction from Satan and immediately focus on God. Be prepared, there are certain situations that make you more vulnerable to temptation than others. Be prepared, some circumstances will cause you to stumble almost immediately, while other's don't bother you much. Be prepared, certain situations are unique to your weakness, and you need to identify them because Satan surely knows them! Satan knows exactly what trips you up, and he is constantly working to get you into those circumstances. Peter warns: Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Ask yourself, when and where am I most tempted? What day of the week? What time of the day? Where? You should identify your typical pattern of temptation and then prepare to avoid those situations as much as possible. The Bible tells us repeatedly to anticipate and be ready to face temptation. Paul says: Don't give the Devil a chance. Wise planning reduces temptation. Follow the advice of Proverbs: Plan carefully what you do...Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don't go one step off the right way. God's people avoid evil ways, and they protect themselves by watching where they go. Heaven has a twenty-four-hour emergency hot line. God wants you to ask him for assistance in overcoming temptation. God says: Call on me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me. I call this a microwave prayer because it is quick and to the point. HELP! SOS! Mayday! When temptation strikes, you don't have time for a long conversation with God; you simply cry out. The Bible guarantees that our cry for help will be heard because Jesus is sympathetic to our struggle. Jesus faced the same temptations we do: He understands our weakness, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. If God is waiting to help us defeat temptation, why don't we turn to him more often? If God is waiting to help us defeat temptation, why don't we turn to him more often? Honestly, sometimes we don't want to be helped! We want to give in to temptation even though we know it is wrong. During temptation, at that moment, sometimes we think we know what's best for us more than God does. During temptation, sometimes we're embarrassed to ask God for help because we keep giving in to the same temptation over and over. God never gets irritated, bored, or impatient when we keep coming back to him. The Bible says: Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it. God's love is everlasting, and his patience endures forever. If you have to cry out to God's help two hundred times a day to defeat a particular temptation, he will still be eager to give mercy and grace, so come boldly. Ask God for the power to do the right thing, and then expect him to provide it. Temptations keep us dependent upon God. Just as the roots grow stronger when wind blows against a tree, so every time you stand up to temptation you become more like Jesus. When you stumble - which you will - it is not fatal. Instead of giving in or giving up, look up to God, expect him to help you, and remember the reward that is waiting for you. Your reward: When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy. After they have proved their faith, God will reward them with life forever. Point to ponder: Every temptation is an opportunity to do good. God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 (NLT) What Christlike character quality can I develop by defeating the most common temptation I face? Run from anything that gives you the evil thoughts...but stay close to anything that makes you want to do right. 2 Timothy 2:22 (LB) Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptations from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT) There is always a way out. You may sometimes feel that a temptation is too overpowering for you to bear, but that's a lie from Satan. God has promised never to allow more on you than he puts within you to handle it. He will not permit any temptation that you could not overcome. However, you must do your part too by practicing four biblical keys to defeating temptation: (1) Refocus your attention on something else (2) Reveal your struggle to a godly friend or support group (3) Resist the Devil (4) Realize your vulnerability It may surprise you that nowhere in the Bible are we told to resist temptation. We are told to resist the devil. We are advised to refocus our attention because resisting a thought does not work. It only intensifies our focus on the wrong thing and strengthens its allure. Every time you try to block a thought out of your mind, you drive it deeper into your memory. By resisting it you actually reinforce it. This is especially true with temptation. You don't defeat temptation by fighting the feeling of it. The more you fight a feeling, the more it consumes and controls you. You strengthen it every time you think it. Since temptation always begins with a thought, the quickest way to neutralize its allure is to turn you attention to something else. Don't fight the thought, just change the channel of your mind and get interested in another idea. This is the first step to fighting temptation. The battle for sin is won and lost in your mind. Whatever gets your attention will get you. Job said: I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman. David said: Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless. We naturally move toward whatever we focus our attention on. The more you think about something, the stronger it takes hold of you. That is why repeating, I must stop eating too much...or stop smoking...or stop lusting is a self-defeating strategy. It keeps you focused on what you don't want. Resisting temptation is like announcing I'm never going to do what my mom did, you are setting yourself up to repeat it. Most diets don't work because they keep you thinking about food all the time, guaranteeing that you'll be hungry. A speaker who keeps repeating to herself, don't be nervous, sets herself up to be nervous. Temptation begins by capturing your attention. What gets your attention arouses you emotions. Then you emotions activate your behavior, and you act on what you felt. The more you focus on I don't want to do this, the stronger it draws you into its web. Ignoring temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So when temptation calls you on the phone, don't argue with it, just hang up! Hanging up on temptation sometimes means physically leaving a tempting situation. This is the one time its ok to run away. With temptation is like this: to avoid being stung, stay away from the bees. With temptation do whatever is necessary to turn your attention to something else. Spiritually your mind is the most vulnerable organ. To reduce temptation, keep your mind occupied with God's Word and other good thoughts. You defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better. You overcome evil with good. Satan can't get your attention when your mind is preoccupied with something else. The Bible repeatedly tells us to keep our minds focused: Fix your thoughts on Jesus. Always thing about Jesus Christ. Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. If you're serious about defeating temptation you must manage your mind and monitor your media intake. The wisest man who ever lived warned: Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Don't allow trash into your mind indiscriminately. Be selective. Choose carefully what you think about. Paul said: We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. This takes a lifetime of practice. but with help of the Holy Spirit you can reprogram the way you think. "COME to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. TAKE my yoke upon you, and LEARN from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will FIND rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light . " - Jesus Matt. 11: 28- 30 (RSV) " Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11: 28 (RSV) "God energizes those who get tired, and gives fresh strength to dropouts... Those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind ." Isa. 40: 29- 31 (Mes) "Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role- play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace ." Matt. 6: 6 (Mes) "Oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him - endless energy, boundless strength! All this energy issues from Christ." Eph. 1: 19- 20a (Mes) "Jesus overheard and said, "Don't be upset. Just trust me and everything will be all right." Luke 8: 50 (Mes) " For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt. 11: 30 (NIV) "Pile your troubles on God's shoulders - he'll carry your load and help you out." Ps. 55: 22 (Mes) "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal. 5: 25 (NIV) "Our lives get in step with God by letting Him set the pace." Rom. 3: 28 (Mes) "If even the smallest things are beyond your control , why are you anxious about the rest?" Luke 12: 26 (NAB) "... Learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matt. 11: 29b (NIV) "Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way?" Pr. 20: 24 (LB) " When I am ready to give up, He knows what I should do." Ps. 142: 3 (GN) " Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, 'I will never leave you ; I will never abandon you. '" Heb. 13: 5 (TEV) " My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. " Ps. 62: 1 (NIV) "He showed himself alive after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he continued to appear to them." Acts 1:3 (NJB) "By being raised from death he proved to be the mighty Son of God." Rom. 1:4 (LB) "Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing grace." Eph. 1:7 (GW) "God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God." Rom. 4:25 (CEV) "God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God's goodness into us!" 2 Cor. 5:21 (LB) "God says he will accept us and acquit us-declare us 'not guilty' if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like." Rom. 3:22 (LB) "Being saved is a gift from God. It's not the result of anything you've done, so no one can brag about it." Eph. 2:8-9 (GW) "We aren't saved by keeping the commandments of God because we can't and don't keep them. So God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body... as a sacrifice for our sins." Rom. 8:3 (LB) "Those who believe in him...will not be judged." John 5:24 (GN) "There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ." Rom. 8:1 (NLT) "Christ died for us so that all who live - having received eternal life from him - might live no longer for themselves, but spend their lives pleasing Christ." 2 Cor. 5:15 (LB) "Jesus included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own." 2 Cor. 5:15 (Mes) "Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life, and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven." 1 Peter 1:3-4 (Mes) "...a clean slate and a fresh start come from God by way of Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 1:30 (Mes) "When people sin, they earn what sin pays-death. But God gives us a free gift -life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 6:23 (NCV) "When Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of 'death-as- the-end.' Never again will death have the last word." Rom. 6:9 (Mes) "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Rom. 5:8 (NLT) "He will send down help from heaven to save me because of his love." Ps. 57:3b (LB) "You will be saved, if you honestly say, 'Jesus is Lord,' and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others." Rom. 10:9-10 (CEV) "You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." Proverbs 19:21 (NLT) God says, "I wish my people would listen to me." Psalm 81:13 (NCV) "There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death." Proverbs 16:25 (NLT) "I know what I am planning for you," says the Lord. "I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) "No one has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 (LB) "We know that all that happens to us is working for our good IF we love God and are fitting into his plans." Romans 8:28 (LB) God says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) "The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for his faithful love endures forever." Psalm 138:8 (NLT) Psalm 55:22 Cast your burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain you. Psalm 50:23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God. Psalm 51:13 I will teach transgressors Thy ways, And sinners will be converted to thee. Psalm 55:16 I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me, Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear me. Psalm 54:7 I will give thanks to Thy name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all trouble. Psalm 53:2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God. Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart Proverbs 3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, Go and come back, And tomorrow I will give it, When you have it with you. Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 15:22 Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed. Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, And do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. Proverbs 11:12 He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding keeps silent. One day Moses was tending the flock of his father- in- law, Jethro... Suddenly, the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a blazing fire in a bush. Moses was amazed because the bush was engulfed in flames, but it didn't burn up. Exodus 3: 1- 2 (NLT) When the Lord saw that He had caught Moses' attention , God called to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" "Here I am!" Moses replied. "Do not come any closer," God told him. "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground." Exodus 3: 4- 5 (NLT) "But who am I to appear before Pharaoh?" Moses asked God. "How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?" Then God told him, "I will be with you." Exodus 3: 11- 12 (NLT) When you call to me, I will answer you. I will be with you when you are in trouble. I will save you and honor you. Psalm 91: 15 ( GW ) "They will ask, 'Which god are you talking about? What is his name? Then what should I tell them?" God replied, "I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS. Just tell them, 'I AM has sent me to you. '" Exodus 3: 13- 14 (NLT) "I AM your provision" (Jehovah- Jireh) "I AM your victory" (Jehovah- Nissi) "I AM your peace" (Jehovah- Shalom) "I AM there" (Jehovah- Shammah) But Moses protested again, "Look, they won't believe me! They won't do what I tell them. They'll just say, 'The LORD never appeared to you. '" Then the LORD asked him, "What do you have there in your hand?" "A shepherd's staff," Moses replied. Exodus 4: 1- 2 (NLT) "Throw it down on the ground," the LORD told him. So Moses threw it down, and it became a snake! Moses was terrified, so he turned and ran away. Then the LORD told him, "Take hold of its tail." So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it became a shepherd's staff again. Exodus 4: 3- 4 (NLT) But Moses pleaded with the LORD, "O Lord, I'm just not a good speaker. I never have been, and I'm not now, even after you have spoken to me. I'm clumsy with words." Exodus 4: 10 (NLT) "Who makes mouths?" the LORD asked him." Exodus 4: 11 (NLT) He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11: 26 (NIV) He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and so kept right on going. Hebrews 11: 27 (Mes) I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other. Romans 1: 12 [Jesus said] "I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it-- the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends." John 15: 12- 13 God...is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9 For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son... So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God--all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. Romans 5:10a-11 "I will bless you... and you will be a blessing to others."Gen. 12: 2 ( NCV) Jesus: "I guarantee this: Anyone who gives up (anything) for the kingdom of God will certainly receive many times more in this life, and will receive eternal life in the world to come." Luke 18: 29- 30 ( GW) " Give away your life and you'll find your life given back, but not merely given back- given back with bonus and blessing." Luke 6: 38 (Msg) " Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater ." Luke 12: 48 ( LB) "Before people can ask the Lord to save them, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about Jesus someone must tell them!" Rom. 10: 14 ( NCV) " Without wise leadership, a nation falls." Pr. 11: 14 (NLT) "Sound leadership has a moral foundation." Pr. 16: 12 (Msg) "People wander about like lost sheep. They are in trouble because they have no leader." Zech. 10: 2 (TEV) "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." Pr. 29: 7 (NIV) "A person who has an easy life has no appreciation for misfortune. He thinks its the fate of those who slip up."Job 12: 5 (GW) "I'm bent over and bowed down low. My insides are filled with burning pain, and no healthy spot is left on my body. I am numb and devastated... I've lost my strength, and even the light of my eyes has left me. My loved ones and friends keep their distance and relatives stand far away because of my sickness."Ps. 38: 6- 11 (GW) "The diseased and weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the hurt and crippled you have not bandaged, those gone astray you have not brought back, and the lost you have not sought to find... Therefore I am against you..!" Ezek. 34: 4 (Amp) "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge."Hosea 4: 6a (NIV) "God sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others . God was in Christ , offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. Now he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace ." 2 Cor. 5: 18- 19 ( CEV) "My ambition has always been to share the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else."Rom. 15: 20 ( NLT) "The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose." Yet they both will be rewarded (for) their own hard work." 1 Cor. 3: 8 (NLT) " Pass on what you heard from me in the whole congregation to reliable leaders, who are competent to teach others."2 Tim. 2: 2 (Msg) Jesus said, " I have given you an example to follow: do as I have done to you." John 13: 15 (LB) "... God made Jesus the Perfect Leader..." Heb. 2: 10 (LB) " What God considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering..."James 1: 27 (TEV) "God blesses those who are kind to the poor. He helps them out of their troubles." Ps. 41: 1 ( LB) " If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord- and he will repay you!" Pr. 19: 17 ( NLT) "If you see someone in need, and have the means to do something about it, but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love in you? It disappears!"1 John 3: 17 ( Msg) "You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate." Luke 6: 36 ( NLT) "So the next generation will know, and all the generations to come- Know the truth and tell the stories, so your children can trust in God..." Ps. 78: 6- 7 (Msg) "Teach the children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives." Pr. 22: 6 ( TEV) "Your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost!" Matt. 18: 14 (NCV) "It's better to have a partner than go it alone." Eccl. 4: 9 ( Msg) "They went on their trip to serve Christ, and didn't accept help from the people to whom they went. We must support believers who go on trips like this so we can work together with them in spreading the truth." 3 John 1: 7- 8 ( GW) "God said to Isaiah, 'You are my servant, and you will bring me glory. ' I replied, "But my work all seems so useless... and to no purpose at all!" Isa. 49: 4 ( NLT) "Then God said to Isaiah, "I have a greater task for you. Not only will you restore (your people) but I will also make you a light to the nations, so that all the world may be saved!" I sa. 49: 6 (TEV) "Not for our sake, God, no, not for our sake, but for your name's sake, show your glory!" Ps. 115: 1 (Msg) "We are not saying that we can do this work ourselves. It is God who makes us able to do all that we do." 2 Cor. 3: 5 (NCV) "God will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern."Matt. 6: 33 (NLT) "God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God!" Matt. 5: 9 ( NLT) "God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others What that means is God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. Now he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace." 2 Cor.5:18-19 (CEV) "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted." 1 Cor. 15:58(NCV) "God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other." 1 Peter 4: " By now you should be teachers. Instead, you still need someone to teach you...!" Heb. 5: 12 (GW) "Let us go on... and become mature in our understanding, as strong Christians ought to be." Heb. 6: 1 (LB) "We belong to each other and each of us needs all the others ." Rom. 12: 5 (NLT) To be healthy and balanced spiritually, I need... Large group worship (at the "Temple Courts") Small group fellowship (in a home) Acts 5: 42 "Those who believed ... were baptized and added to the church ... They joined with the other believers and committed themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship ... They worshiped together regularly at the Temple courts AND met in small groups in homes for communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness." Acts 2: 41- 42, 46 (NLT/ LB) " That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth." 1 Tim. 3: 15 (NCV) "God has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God's own family ." 1 Pet. 1: 3 (LB) "The thing I seek most of all is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life , and delighting in his incomparable perfection's and glory." Ps. 27: 4 (LB) "They worshiped together regularly at the Temple courts ..." Acts 2: 46a (LB) "... true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4: 23 (NIV) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart ... and soul and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." Matt. 22: 37- 38 (NIV) All that's left now is the shouting - God's applause! 2 Timothy 4: 8 (Msg) Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. Matthew 6: 1 (Msg) All athletes practice strict self- control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 1 Corinthians 9: 25 (NLT) Though a man calls himself happy all through his life - and the world loudly applauds success - yet in the end he dies like everyone else. Psalm 49: 18- 19 (TLB) Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. Luke 6: 37 (NLT) They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. 1 Peter 2: 23 (Msg) You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember , the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3: 13 (NLT) Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. Hebrews 10: 24 (NLT) Encourage anyone who feels left out, help all who are weak, and be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5: 14 (CEV) Pray for those who insult you. Luke 6: 28 (GW) Don't retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing . That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it. 1 Peter 3: 9 (NLT) If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also. Matthew 5: 39 (NCV) Lord, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say. Psalm 141: 3 (NCV) And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, Ephesians 4: 26 (NLT) A gentle word can get through to the hard-headed. Proverbs 25: 15b (NCV) A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words cause quarrels. Proverbs 15: 1 (TLB) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5: 5 (NIV) It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities. Proverbs 16: 32 (TEV) "Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones. Luke 16 : 10 Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Proverbs 14:23 In all labor there is a profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. Out of the three gifts of faith, hope and love, the greatest of all is love. Corinthians 13:13 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. Mark 10:9 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little. --Luke 7:47 Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. --Matthew 5:16 The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on Him sincerely. --Psalm 145:18 And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (John 8:32) Be careful for nothing, but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:6) God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. --Matthew 5:8 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs." 1 Corinthians 13: 4,5 "The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them." - John 15:13 "A friend means well, even when he hurts you. But when an enemy puts his hand round your shoulder - watch out!" - Proverbs 27:6 "An honest answer is the sign of true friendship." - Proverbs 24:26 "Foresake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shall drink it with pleasure." - Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers." - Proverbs 18:24 "Friends always show their love. What are brothers for if not to share troubles?" - Proverbs 17:17 "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ...he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." Ephesians 1:11 (Msg) For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, ... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. Colossians 1:16 (Msg) He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. Psalm 40:2 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11(NIV) Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Proverbs 3:5 (MSG) Jesus said,"You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do." John 9:3(MSG) Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:19(NIV) "Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong." Matthew 5:37(MSG) We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open. 2 Cor.4:2(MSG) Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Romans 12:11-12(MSG) Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord." Mark 12:29 (NLT) Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom. Psalm 90:12(NLT) Outside there was conflict from every direction, and inside there was fear. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.2 Corinthians 7:5-6(NLT) I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you. Romans 1:12(NCV) Multiplied new challenges and blessings. Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! James 5:10-11a(MSG) "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock". Matthew 7:24 (MSG) Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God-- all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins-- making us friends of God. Romans 5:11(TLB) "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. . . Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together." Col. 1:15-17 (NLT) "Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." Habakkuk 3:2 (NIV) "Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28-29 (NLT) "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-the moon and the stars you have set in place- what are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us?" Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT) "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." Revelation 19:7 (NIV) "You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected." Luke 12:40 (NLT) "... God raises the dead to life and creates new things ." Rom. 4: 17b (CEV) "Each person must be responsible for himself." Gal. 6: 5 (NCV) "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matt. 19: 26 (NLT) "Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up." Gal. 6: 9 (LB) " Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed." James 5: 16 (LB) "Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Col. 3: 13 (LB) " It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong." Pr. 24: 3 (NCV) " Get all the advice and instruction you can..." Pr. 19: 20 (NLT) " We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith." Heb. 12: 2 (GW) "God, who is at work within you, will give you the will and the power to achieve His purpose." Phil. 2: 13 (Ph) " I'll give you a new heart and I'll put a new spirit in you." Ezek. 11: 19 (Msg) Jesus said, "Love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy." Mark 12: 30 ( Msg) With all your heart... SEEK God passionately! Deut. 4: 29 LOVE God passionately! Deut. 6: 5 SERVE God passionately! Deut. 10: 12 OBEY God passionately! Deut. 30: 2 TRUST God passionately! Pr. 3: 5 Do everything passionately! Col. 3: 23 "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual forever. "Rom. 12: 11 (NIV) " It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants His loved ones to get their proper rest." Ps. 127: 2 ( LB) " Take the time and the trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit." 1 Tim. 4: 7b (Ph) " Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others . So use your gift well." 1 Peter 4: 10 (CEV) "Each one should live his life with the gifts that the Lord has given him..." 1 Cor. 7: 17 (Ph) "My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear... I am bowed down and brought low . " Ps. 38: 4+ 6 (NIV) " Resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple." Job 5: 2 (NLT) "You are only hurting yourself with your anger." Job 18: 4 (GN ) "Two are better than one, because... if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Eccl. 4: 9- 10 (NIV) "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together... but let us encourage one another ." Heb. 10: 24- 25 (NIV) "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing." Isa. 49: 4 (NIV) "Just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust Him, too, for each day's problems; live in vital union with Him. Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous..." Col. 2: 6- 7 (LB) " You must worship only the Lord, for He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you ." Ex. 34: 14 (NLT) "Jesus showed Himself alive to them after His Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days He had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God." Acts 1: 3 (NJB) "Whoever is wise will remember these things and will think about the deep love of the Lord." Ps. 107: 43 (NCV) " God showed how much He loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." 1 John 4: 9- 10 (NLT) "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor - not in lustful passion as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways. God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives."1 Thessalonians 4:3-5,7 "...God wants you to be holy..." 1 Thessalonians 4:3a "God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again." Philippians 1:6 "Run away from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "...so you should keep clear of all sexual sin."1 Thessalonians 4:3b "Then each of you will control your body..."1 Thessalonians 4:4a "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 "... and live in holiness and honor..."1 Thessalonians 4:4a "God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives."1 Thessalonians 4:7 "As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness." 1 Peter 1:15 (Msg) " God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose for them ." Rom. 8: 28 (NLT) Jesus: "Some, from birth seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked- or accepted. And some decide not to get married for Kingdom reasons..." Matt. 19: 12 (Msg) "I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of marriage, and to others he gives the gift of singleness. " 1 Cor. 7: 7 (NLT) "... some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven." Matt 19: 12 (NLT) "But if the unbeliever (spouse) leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances ." 1 Cor. 7: 15 (NIV) "I've learned to be content in whatever situation I'm in... I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Ph. 4: 11+ 13 (GW) "He sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down and plant gardens. Jer. 29: 28 (NIV) " Don't conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God -what is good, and is pleasing to him, and is perfect." Rom. 12: 2 (TEV) When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves... so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God." 1 Cor. 7: 32- 34 (Mes) "Don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do ... Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love." Gal. 5: 13 (Mes) "The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others." 1 Cor. 12: 7 (CEV) "We can't afford to waste a minute. We must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation... and grabbing everything in sight." Rom. 13: 13 (Mes) "There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives necessarily. Keep it simple- in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things- your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. The world as you see it is on its way out. 1 Cor. 7: 29- 31 (Mes) " Good people will always be remembered. " Ps. 112: 6 (NCV) "My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus- the work of telling others the Good News about God's wonderful kindness and love." Acts 20: 24 (NLT) " Through Christ, all the kindness of God has been poured out upon us ... and now he is sending us out around the world to tell all people everywhere the great things God has done for them, so that they, too, will believe and obey him." Rom. 1: 5 (LB) "Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live ." Mark 8: 35 (LB) "Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise." Psalm 90: 12 (NCV) "I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15: 5 (NIV) "My days go by faster than a runner; they fly away without my seeing any joy." Job 9: 25 (NCV) "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46: 10 (NIV) "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. . . " Exodus 20: 8- 10 (NLT) "Then Jesus said, 'Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. '" Matthew 11: 28- 29 (NLT) "Maybe so, but it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind." Eccles. 4: 6 (TEV) 'Let your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven." Matt. 5: 16 (CEV) "You are like salt for the whole human race." Matt 5: 13 (TEV) "You are to influence them; do not let them influence you!"Jer. 15: 19 (NLT) " Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that." Gal. 6: 4a (Msg) "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'What is that in your hand? ' 'A staff, ' he replied. God said, 'Throw it on the ground. '"Ex. 4: 2 (NIV ) "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart." Pr. 15: 30 (NIV) "God comforts us ... so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us."2 Cor. 1: 4 (NCV) " Even though I am free of the expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people." 1 Cor. 9: 19 (Msg) "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!" Ps. 107: 2 (KJV) "Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless. Speak for them and... protect the rights of the poor and needy." Pr. 31: 8- 9 (TEV) "Christ was sinless, yet he offered himself as an eternal and spiritual sacrifice to God. That's why his blood is much more powerful and makes our consciences clear. Now we can serve the living God and no longer do things that lead to death."Heb. 9: 14 (CEV) Paul:" My life is being poured out as part of the sacrifice and service I offer to God for your faith. Yet, I am filled with joy."Ph. 2: 17 (GW) " Don't forget to do good things for others and to share what you have with them. These are the kinds of sacrifices that please God." Heb. 13: 16 (GW) "Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days." Eph. 5: 16 (NLT) "Make the most of your chances to tell unbelievers the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them ." Col. 4: 5 (LB) "... the area of influence God assigned to us is to reach you. (Now) our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you." 2 Cor. 10: 13- 16 (ESV) "For me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying- that's better yet!" Phil. 1: 21 (LB) "If you are untrustworthy about handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?" Luke 16: 11 ( NLT) show love and to do good." Heb. 10: 24 ( TEV) "People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps... The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. 1 Tim. 6: 9- 10 ( CEV) "Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it!" Eccl. 5: 10- 11 ( NLT) " Don't always be wishing for what you don't have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are." Luke 12: 15 ( LB) "Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.". Pr, 23: 5 ( TEV) "Tell people to use their money to do good... By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven -- it is the only safe investment for eternity!" 1 Tim. 6: 17- 19 ( LB) " Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income..." Pr. 3: 9 (LB) "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Mt. 6: 21( NIV) "The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives." Deut. 14: 23 (LB) "Share what you have with God's people who are in need. Show hospitality. "Rom. 12: 13 ( GW) " Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another, to show love and to do good." Heb. 10: 24 ( TEV) The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin." Pr. 10: 16 ( NLT) " Buy truth- and don't sell it for love or money; buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight." Pr. 23: 23 ( Mes) "The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller." Pr 11: 24 ( Mes) "Give to the poor and you will never be in need. But If you close your eyes to the poor, many will curse you." Pr. 28: 27 ( TEV) " When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back." Pr. 19: 17 ( TEV) "Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Lk. 16: 9 ( NIV) " You will honor God through this genuine act of service because of your commitment to spread the Good News of Christ and because of your generosity in sharing..." 2 Cor. 9: 13 ( GW) "You are familiar with the generosity of Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us- in one stroke he became poor and we became rich." 2 Cor. 8: 9 ( Mes) "I will make the godly of the land My heroes." Ps. 101: 6 (LB) " If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life." Mark 8: 35 (NLT) "... If we will never live again after we die, then we might as well go and have ourselves a good time! Let us eat, drink, and be merry. What's the difference? For tomorrow we die, and that ends everything! Don't be fooled by those who say such things!" 1 Cor. 15: 32b- 33 (LB) "Why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Jesus? Do you think I was just trying to act heroic... Not on your life! It's the resurrection that undergirds what I do and say, and the way I live." 1 Cor. 15: 30- 32a (Msg) "Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and you'll end up holding the bag." Luke 19: 26 (Mes) "Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless . Speak for them... and protect the rights of the poor and needy." Pr. 31: 8- 9 (TEV) "Even if you give a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded." Matt. 10: 42 (NLT) "Jesus brought the sacrifice for the sins of all the people, once and for all, when He sacrificed Himself ." Heb. 7: 27 (GW) " Whoever wants to be great must become a servant." Matt. 20: 26 (Msg) "Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God, turn your backs on the world's "sure thing," and ignore what the world worships." Ps. 40: 4 (Msg) " Do not model your behavior on the contemporary world, but let the renewing of your minds transform you, so that you may discern the will of God- what is good and acceptable and mature." Rom. 12: 2 (NJB) "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong." Ex. 23: 2 (NIV) "These are the three most heroic men in David's army: Josheb... Eleazar, the son of Dodo... and Shammah. Once during an attack, when all Shammah's men deserted him, he stood alone at the center of a field and beat back the Philistines; and God gave him a great victory." 2 Sam 23: 8- 12 (LB) "Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory." Ephesians 3:13 "one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:6 "...speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we members of one another" Ephesians 4:25 "Be angry, and yet do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger." Ephesians 4:26 "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth..." Ephisians 4:29 "...let him labor...in order that he may have something to share with him who has need." Ephesians 4:28 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." Ephesians 4:31 "...be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, jus as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32 "But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you..." Ephesians 5:3 "...There must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse gesturing, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks" Ephesians 5:4 "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them." Ephesians 5:11 "...making the most of your time because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:16 "...He who loves his own wife loves himself" Ephesians 5:28 "...take up the full armor of God...truth...righteousness... the preparation of the gospel of peace...faith...salvation... the word..." Ephesians 6:14 "...Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against ... the spiritual forces of wickedness..." Ephesians 6:12 "And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me." Luke 7:23 "And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the one who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity." Luke 8:14 "...but he who is forgiven little, loves little." Luke 8:47 "And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." Luke 8:15 "...If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23 "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning." Luke 10:18 "...you are worried and bothered by so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one," Luke 10:41-42 "..yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. And I say to you, ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. Luke 11:8-9 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" Luke 11:13 "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it." Luke 11:28 "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Luke 12:15 "But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you." Luke 12:31 "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Luke 13:5 "It tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." Luke 15:7 "By your endurance you will gain your lives." Luke 21:19 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My words, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgement, but has passed out of death into life." John 6:24 "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:44 "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." John 8:51 "I am the door, if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out, and find pasture." John 10:9 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for his sheep." John 10:11 "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me shall never die." John 11:26 "Jesus Wept" John 11:35 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." John 14:6 "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me;" John 14:21 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; John 14:23 "if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." John 15:11 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;" John 15:10 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 "...I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will. Acts 13:22 "Being then the offspring of God..." Acts 17:29 "...But the righteous man shall live by faith." Romans 1:17 "For they exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator... Romans 1:25 "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural functions for that which is unnatural" Romans 1:26 "And in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another." Romans 1:27 "...knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance" Romans 2:4 "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" Romans 5:6 "And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" Romans 5:20 "...if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deed of the body, you will live." Romans 8:13 "For all you who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." Romans 8:14 "For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32 "Or does not the processor have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump on vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?" Romans 9:21 "Except the Lord of Sabbath had left us a posterity, we would have become as Sodom and would have resembled Gomorrah." Romans 9:29 "...And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed." Romans 9:33 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Romans 10:9 "for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." Romans 10:10 "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:11 "Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor." Romans 13:7 "You shall not commit adultery" Romans 13:9 "You shall not murder" Romans 13:9 "You shall not steal" Romans 13:9 "You shall not covet" Romans 13:9 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Romans 13:9 "...Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh in regard to its lusts." Romans 13:14 "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God." Cor. 1:18 "Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?" Cor 6:3 "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Cor 6:15 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you" Cor 6:19 "The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." Cor 7:4 "...but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God." Cor 7:19 "...we should not crave evil things ...Nor let us act immorally, ...Nor let us try the Lord, ...Nor grumble," Cor 10:6-10 "...God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what your are able, but with temptation will provide a way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. Cor 10:13 "Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor." Cor 10:24 "And if one member suffers, all members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all members rejoice with it." Cor 12:26 "Love never fails..." Cor 13:8 "But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." Cor 13:13 "Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals." Cor 15:33 "The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Cor 15:45 "He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully." 2 Cor 9:6 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh." 2 Cor 3:10 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Gal 3:38 "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." Gal 3:29 "Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is the owner of everything." Gal 4:1 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh." Gal 5:16 "Now the deeds of the flesh...are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, disputes, dissentions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these" Gal 5:19-21 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Gal 5:22-24 "Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." Gal 5:26 "And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary." Gal 6:9 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." Gal 6:7 "For is anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." Gal 6:3 "Don't always believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; Test it first to see if it really is" 1 John 4:1(LB) "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way to death." Pr. 14:12 "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." 2 Cor. 11:14 "Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away." Lk. 21:33 (GN) "Even if an angel should preach a different 'gospel' than this let him be eternally condemned!" Gal. 1:8 "In your lives you must think and act as Christ Jesus." Phil 2:5 (NCV) "If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition... such 'wisdom' doesn't come from heaven...but the devil. The wisdom that comes from God is... pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere." James 3:14-17 "God's intent is that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known." Eph. 3:10 "The wisdom of the righteous can save you." Pr. 11:9(GN) "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Eph. 2:10 "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well... Rom. 12:6(LB) "We will be judged one day, not by each others standards, or even our own, but by the judgement of God... it is to God alone that we shall have to answer for our actions." Rom. 14:10,13(Ph) "If we confess our sins to him, God can be depended on to forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong." 1 Jn. 1:9(LB) "Satan is the accuser of believers." Rev. 12:10 "God is not the author of confusion." 1 Cor. 14:33 "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts..." Col. 3:15 "Homes are built on the foundation of wisdom & understanding." Pr. 24:3 (TEV) "I pray that your love will keep on growing because of your knowledge and insight." Ph. 1:9 (GW) "Marriage involves you in all the domestic life and wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention." 1 Cor. 7:33-34a (Msg) "Answering before listening is both stupid and rude." Pr. 18:13(Msg) "God speaks in different ways, and we don't always recognize his voice." Job 33:14(CEV) "Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19(NIV) "Out love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action." 1 John 3:18(TEV) "Look out for one another's interests, not just your own." Phil. 2:4(TEV) "Honor Christ by submitting to each other." Eph. 5:21(LB) "May God...help you live in complete harmony with each other each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other." Rom. 15:5(NLT) "Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other." Rom. 12:10(NLT) Jesus told the church: "The love you have had at first is gone. Remember how far you have fallen. Return to me and change the way you think and act, and do what you did at first." Rev. 2:4-5(GW) "May you live to enjoy your grandchildren." PS. 128:6(NLT) "Encourage each other every day while it is 'today'" Heb. 3:13a(NCV) "A word of encouragement does wonders!" Pr. 12:25(LB) "I have great confidence in you, and have a lot of reasons to be proud of you..." 2 Cor. 7:4(GW) "I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you." Rom. 1:12(NCV) "You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him." Col. 2:6(CEV) "Keep you roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith." Col. 2:7(TEV) "Make this your common practice: Confess you sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed." James 5:16(Msg) "Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track." Pr. 3:6(Msg) "Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. "... God raises the dead to life and creates new things ." Rom. 4: 17b (CEV) "Live life with a sense of responsibility, not as those who don't know the meaning of life, but as those who do." Eph. 5:15 (ph) "Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. Everything is open before him, and to him we must explain the way we have lived" Heb. 4:13 (NCV) "Each of us will have to give a personal account to God" Rom. 14:12 "People should be concerned about others and not just about themselves." 1 Cor. 10:24 "You will experience all God's blessings if you obey the Lord." Deut. 28:2 (NCV) "To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given." Matt. 25:29 (NLT) The wise man save for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets." Pr. 21:20 (LB) "The fool thinks only about have a good time now." Eccl 7:4 (NLT) "A fool expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them." Pr. 29:11 (GWT) "People will be responsible for every careless word they've said." Matt. 12:36 (NCV) "Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good." Rom. 12:21 (NLT) "A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance." Pr. 28:13 (LB) "Don't point the finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!" Hosea 4:4 (NLT) "All of us have fallen short...yet not God declares us 'not guilty' if we trust in Jesus Christ, who freely takes away our sins." Rom. 3:23-24 (LB) "For your own good...don't sin by making an idol in any form." Deut 4:15-16 (GN) "...those who make idols are disillusioned..." Jer. 10:14 (GN) "Of what value is an idol? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation." Heb. 2:18 (NIV) "The poor, deluded fool is trusting something that can give him no help at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask: Is this thing, this idol ... a lie? Isa. 44:20 (NLT) "...you were controlled by dead idols, who led you astray." 1 Cor. 12:2 (GN) "Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them." Ps. 115:8 (GWT) "Those who know the Lord trust him..." Ps. 9:10 (NVC) "We can completely count on him, for it is impossible for God to lie." Heb. 6:19 (LB) "God will continue to be true even when every person is false." Rom. 3:4 (NCV) "We know how much God loves us, so we have put our trust in him... because God's perfect love drives out fear." 1 Jn. 4:16,18 (NCV) "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Rom. 8:28 (NLT) "Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success." Pr. 3:5-6 (NCV) Jesus says: "Don't be afraid. Just trust me." Mark 5:36 (NLT) "A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls" Pr. 25:28 (NLT) "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." Pr. 29:11 (LB) "A hot-tempered man...gets into all kinds of trouble." Pr. 29:22 (LB) "Hot tempers cause arguments." Pr. 15:18 (GN) "...anger causes mistakes." Pr. 14:29 (LB) "People with hot tempers do foolish things." Pr. 14:17 (GN) "The fool who provokes his family to anger and resentment will finally have nothing worthwhile left." Pr. 11:29 (LB) "If you keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble." Pr. 21:23 (NLT) "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." James 1:19 (NIV) "A stupid man gives free rein to his anger, a wise man waits and lets it grow cool." Pr. 19:11 (NIV) "A man's wisdom gives him patience." Pr. 19:11 (NIV) "If you become angry, don't let your anger lead to you to sin." Eph. 4:26 (GN) "Keep away from angry, short-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them..." Pr. 22:24 (NLT) "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone... never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God... overcome evil with good." Rom. 12:17-21 (NLT) "Lord help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say." Ps. 141:2 (NCV) "Whatever is in your heart determines what you say." Mt. 12:34 (NIV) "Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart..." Col. 3:15 (NAS) "It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night... God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest." Ps. 127:2 (LB) "God will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." Matt. 6:33 (NIV) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart... This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is... Love you neighbor as yourself." Matt. 22:37-39 (NIV) "Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work!" Eccl. 10:15 (GN) "You made my body, Lord: now give me sense to heed your laws." Ps. 119:73 "You have six days in which to do your work, but the 7th day is to be a day of rest dedicated to me." Ex. 20:9-10 (GN) "The Sabbath was made to benefit man..." Mark 2:27 "I've learned why people work so hard to succeed: it's because they envy the things their neighbors have." Eccl. 4:4 (GN) "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36 (NIV) "It is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time..." Eccl. 4:6 (GN) "...I had no time for myself." Song of Sol 1:6 "I will not neglect your word." Ps. 119:16 (NIV) "Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray." Lk. 5:15-16 (NCV) "My times are in your hands." Ps. 31:15b (NIV) "There is a time and a season for everything under Heaven." Eccl. 3:1 (NIV) "All of us should...enjoy what we have worked for. It's is God's gift." Eccl. 3:13 (GN) "A relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life." Pr. 14:30 (LB) Jesus: "Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest... the load I give you to carry is light." Matt. 11:28-29 (NCV) ".. God raises the dead to live and creates new things." Rom. 4:17b (CEV) "Each person must be responsible for himself." Gal. 6:5 (NCV) "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God Everything is possible. Matt. 19:26 (NLT) "Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not get discouraged and give up." Gal. 6:9 (LB) "Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed." James 5:16 (LB) "It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong." Pr. 24:3 (NCV) "We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith." Heb 12:2 (GW) "God, who is at work within you, will give you the will and the power to achieve His purposes." Phil. 2:13 (Ph) "I'll give you a new heart and I'll put a new spirit in you." Ezek. 11:19 (Msg) "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. This is the great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one." Eph 5:31-32 (NLT) "Don't ever forget my words..They are the keys to life." Pr. 4:21-22 (NCV) "Reliable communication permits progress." Pr. 13:17b (LB) "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but one that which is good (and) edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers." Eph. 4:29 (KJV) "Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong." Matt 5:37 (Msg) You must learn to be considerate on one another, cultivating a life in common." 1 Cor. 1:10b (Msg) "Husbands, show consideration for your wives in your life together...so that nothing may hinder your prayers." 1 Peter 3:7 (NRSV) "Show your love by being helpful to each other." Eph. 4:2b (TEV) "We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of others... if we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord." Rom. 15:102 (NLT) "You must make allowances for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Col. 3:13 (NLT) "A home divided against itself is doomed." Mark 3:25 (NLT) "People who do not get along with others are only interested in themselves." Pr. 18:1 (TEV) "...Love does not demand its own way." 1 Cor. 13:5 (LB) "May...God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all." Rom. 15:5 (Msg) "The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy, which is her right as a married woman, nor should the wife deprive her husband." 1 Cor. 7:3 (NLT) "There is more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much a spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." 1 Cor. 6:16 (Msg) "Let (your mate's) affection fill you at all times with delight.." Pr. 5:19b (RSV) "I hate divorce,' says the Lord... 'So make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your (mate)." Mal. 2:16 (TEV) "...God's secret is Christ Himself. He is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge." Col. 2:203 (TEV) "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a right store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." Isaiah 33:6 (NIV) "This is the day that God has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 "As you think in your heart, so are you." Proverbs 23:7 "Give and it will be given to you - a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over." Luke 6:38 "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Matthew 7:12 "As you sow, so shall you reap." Galatians 6:7 "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1 "If God is for us, who can be against us." Romans 8:31 Mark 16:15-18 And he said to them, "Go into the all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. And those signs will accompany those who have believed; in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud; it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." I Corinthians 1:8 "In everything give thanks...." I Thessalonians 5:18 Love knows no limit to its endurance no end to its trust, Love still stands when all else has fallen. -- First Corinthians 13:7-8 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. -- Song of Solomon 8:7 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. -- Song of Solomon 7:10 I found the one whom my soul loves. -- Song of Solomon 3:4 Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. -- 1 John 3:18 Psalm 46:1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the Earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -- Matthew 6:19 Proverbs 3:27-28 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, "Go and come back. And tomorrow I will give it." When you have it with you. Luke 3:14 ..."Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages." Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow. for you do not know what a day may bring forth. Romans 13:8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:10-11 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and TEST ME NOW IN THIS," says the Lord of hosts. "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the Lord of hosts. " The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." - Proverbs 1:7 "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." (Gospels) "Much study is a weariness of the flesh, and of the making of books there is no end." (Ecclesiastes) "Jesus wept." (Gospels) "Call and I will answer" - Jer 33:3, God's Telephone Number - "God heals our pain and helps our suffering" "A time to cast away" (Ecclesiastes) "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." - Phil 4:13 "If you believe in me you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." " So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor. 4:18 Matthew 4:4,7,10 ..."It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD Alone, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD'" ..."On the other hand, It is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST'" ..."For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY'" " In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9 (Fate vs. Freewill) "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." -- Paul (Rom 1:20, NIV) All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose Roman 8:28 Psalm 107 verse 13: Then they cried out to the lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 Matthew 15:16-17: "Jesus said, 'Even after all this, are you still so foolish? Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?'" "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent", John 17:3 "I am crucified with Christ , never the less I live , yet not I but Christ lines in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God, who love and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2-20. Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10 Do not forget to entertain strangers for by so doing, some people have entertained angels without knowing it. -Hebrews 13:2 Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me." John 14:1 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 Phillipians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee, and before thou came forth out the womb, I sanctified thee. Jeremiah 1:5 "For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU." Jeremiah 29:11 "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."-1Timothy4:12 "In everything, God works for the good of those who love him" Romans 8:28 I can do all things through he who strengthens me - Philippians 4:13 Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20 JEREMIAH 33:3 - CALL UNTO ME, AND I WILL ANSWER THEE, AND SHOW THEE GREAT AND MIGHTY THINGS, WHICH THOU KNOWEST NOT. 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 FOR GOD HATH NOT GIVEN US THE SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF POWER, AND OF LOVE, AND OF A SOUND MIND. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, " Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7 Dear brothers, is your life full of trials and difficulties? Then be happy, for when the way is rough your patience has a chance to grow, so let it grow and do not try to squirm out of all of your problems. When your patience is finally in full bloom then you will be strong in character, full and complete. James 1:2-4 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, YOU DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than his master.` If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me" John 15:18-21 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 -Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. -Philippians 2:3,4 "Love knows no limit to its endurance no end to its trust, love still stands when all else has fallen." First Corinthians 13:7-8 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15 (NIV) But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:24) "For with God, nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37) "Behold the Kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" Romans 8:28 "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." Isaiah 1:18 "Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure Heart." 2 Timothy 2:22 "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring self willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties." 2 Peter 2: 9 - 10 "For the Grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the Glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. Titus 2: 11 - 13 "For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escapes the corruption that is in the world by lust." 2 Peter 1:4 "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1Timothy 6 : 9 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adulteries, fornication's, thefts, false witness, slanders." Matthew 15 : 18 - 19 "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lusts. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it bring forth death." James 1 : 14 - 15 The Creation Account -- "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." ( Genesis 1:1-2:3 ) . Psalm 23 -- "The Lord is my shepherd..." Psalm 91 -- "He shall command his angels concerning you..." The Ten Commandments -- "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20: 1-17). Beatitudes -- "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." (Matthew 5:1-12 ) . The Golden Rule -- "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (Luke 6:31). The Good Samaritan -- "..But a certain Samaritan...had compassion on him"(Luke 10:33). The Great Commission -- "Go ye therefore and teach all nations"(Matthew 28:18). The Greatest Commandment -- "Love the Lord thy God.." (Mark 12:28-34). John 3:16 -- "For God so loved the world..." The Love Chapter -- "If I have not love I am nothing"(1 Corinthians 13). The Lord's Prayer -- "Our Father who art in heaven..." ( Matthew 6:9-13). The Prodigal Son -- "I am no more worthy to be called thy son..."(Luke 15:11-32). 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Isaiah 58:6: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" Isaiah 58:13-14: "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." Luke 4:18: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised," Acts 10:38: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." Psalm 91:14-16: "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." Joel 2:32: "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." Jeremiah 32:27: "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" Luke 1:37: "For with God nothing shall be impossible." Jeremiah 33:3: "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Mark 1:32-34: "And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him." Luke 10:19-20: "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Psalm 91:3: "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence." James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 1 Peter 5:8-9: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." 1 John 5:4: "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." 2 Thessalonians 3:3: "But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil." John 14: 30: "...For the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." John 16:33: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." 1 Timothy 1:18: "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;" 1 Timothy 6:12: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called," Psalm 41:1: "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble." Psalm 138:7-8: "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands." Psalm 17:3-4: "....I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress..... by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." Psalm 107:20: "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Psalm 126:1-2: "When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them." Psalm 34:7: "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Hebrews 1:14: "Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Isaiah 50:2: " ...Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver?..." Jeremiah 1:8: "Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD." 2 Samuel 22:20: "He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me." 2 Timothy 4:17-18: "I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever." Romans 8:31-32: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Galatians 1:4: "Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:" Psalm 32:7: "Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." Psalm 34:4: "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 18:2-3: "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." Psalm 60:11-12: "Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies." Isaiah 41:13-14: "For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Proverbs 16:7: "When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." James 5: 13-16: "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Matthew 4:23: "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." Acts 28:8-9: "And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:" Proverbs 16:24: "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." Jeremiah 30: 17: "For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after." Exodus 23: 25: "And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." 1 Peter 3:10: "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:" Isaiah 58:6-8: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward." 3 John 2: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." Proverbs 3:7-8: "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." Proverbs 4:20-22: "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." 1 Kings 17:21-22: "And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived." Mark 16:18b: "...They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 11:22: "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God." Matthew 15:28: "Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." Jeremiah 33:6: "Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth." Psalm 91:10: "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come night thy dwelling." Psalm 105:37: "He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes." Psalm 42:11: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Psalm 103:2-3: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;" Exodus 15:26: "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee." (Jehovah Rapha) Psalm 107:20: "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Malachi 4:2: "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." Acts 10:38: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." Luke 17:14: "And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed." 2 Kings 13:21: "And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet." Luke 18:38-43: "And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God." Isaiah 53:4-5: "Surely he hath borne our grief's, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Matthew 8: 16-17: "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." 1 Peter 2:24: "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." Job 33:24-25: "Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth:" Psalm 41:1-3: "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." Psalm 56:13: "For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" Psalm 116: 9: "I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living." Psalm 118:17: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD." Galatians 3:13: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:" Galatians 3:29: "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Jeremiah 32:27: "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue:" Psalm 84:11: "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Job 5:26: "Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season." Numbers 12:13: "And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee." Psalm 30:2-3: "O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit." John 10:10: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Mark 2:11: "I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." Mark 10:52: "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Acts 3:6-8: "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God." Acts 9:33-34: "And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately." Acts 14:8-10: "And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked." 2 Kings 4:32-35: "And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes." Isaiah 61:61:1-3: "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." Isaiah 54:17: "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper..." Deuteronomy 28:7: "The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways." John 15:7: "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Luke 7:12-15: "Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother." Mark 1:30-31: "But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them." Proverbs 9:10-11: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased." 2 Kings 5:14: "Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." John 9:11: "He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight." Matthew 8:8,13: "The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." Acts 9:39-40: "Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up." Acts 28:3-6: "And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god." Acts 8:6-8: "And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city." Mark 6:12-13: "And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them." John 9:43-45: "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him." Acts 19:11-12: "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." Matthew 14:14: "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick." Mark 6:56: "And wheresoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole." Matthew 9:20-22: "And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour." Luke 4:40: "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them." John 4:50-53: "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house." Acts 5:15-16: "Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one." Mark 5:39-42: "And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment." John 14:12-14: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." "Friends always show their love. What are brothers for if not to share troubles?" - Proverbs 17:17 "Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers." - Proverbs 18:24 "Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shall drink it with pleasure." - Ecclesiastes 9:10 "An honest answer is the sign of true friendship." - Proverbs 24:26 "A friend means well, even when he hurts you. But when an enemy puts his hand round your shoulder - watch out!" - Proverbs 27:6 "The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them." - John 15:13 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind...you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Mat 22:37-39 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:8-9