Compassion Is Hard

"Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken." ~ Henri Nouwen ‪‬

To See God...

"We look into the Bible not for doctrine and teaching so much as to see God, to see Him in the characters in which He there dwells and which He molds." 
~ Phineas F. Bresee

God Is Love All the Time

"Everything God does is love—even when we do not understand Him." ~ Basilea Schlink

Are You Strange?

"Go to church once a week and nobody pays attention.  Worship God 7 days a week and you become strange." ~ A. W. Tozer

Worship or Entertainment?

"Some go to church to be entertained and others go to worship. Some expect the pastor to “feed” them while others share in responsibility for the worship experience. When we seek God, we will find God." ~Ried

Align with God's Desires

“If God doesn't want something for me, I shouldn't want it either. Spending time in meditative prayer, getting to know God, helps align my desires with God’s.” 
~ Philip Yancey

What Is Truth?

"Yes, if truth is not undergirded by love, it makes the possessor of that truth obnoxious and the truth repulsive." ~ Ravi Zacharias

Hard Work

"The harder  you work, the harder it is to surrender." ~ Vince Lombardi

Don't Be Afraid!

"Don’t be afraid! He has been raised and goes ahead of you into the ordinary, everyday places where you live and work, laugh and cry, suffer and rejoice, succeed and fail. He goes ahead of you, and if your eyes are prepared to see and your ears are tuned to hear, you will find Him there." ~Harnish

Lying Destroys

“Lying damages others. Lying subtly permits us to destroy ourselves as we are caught in the snare and shatter our own self-image and credibility. Freedom from deceit and lying improves self and gives all of us peace of mind.” ~ Marvin J. Ashton

Tree Hugging?

"Though many Christians will probably prefer to hug people rather than trees, they should lead the way in caring for this planet as a sacred trust from a benevolent Heavenly Father." ~ J. K. Warrick

Integrity...Honesty

“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” ~ Spencer Johnson

Surrender...

"Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will; when that is done, all is done. There are very few crises in life; the great crisis is the surrender of the will. God never crushes a man's will into surrender, He never beseeches him, He waits until the man yields up his will to Him. That battle never needs to be re-fought." ~ Oswald Chambers

Effective People

Effective people are not problem-minded; they’re opportunity-minded. ~ Stephen R. Covey

Choices...

I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. ~ Stephen R. Covey

God's Plan...

“God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which a great blessing can come out of the difficulty.” ~ Peter Marshall ‪

Perfect Conditions

"If you wait for the perfect conditions to seize an opportunity, you'll be waiting till the day you die." ~ Mark Batterson

An Agent of Transformation

“One life transformed by the Power of God can shake the planet and save a soul! People transformed by the Power of God (the Gospel) become agents of transformation.” ~ Allen Perdue (Sermon April 19, 2015) 

Life Will Knock Us Down...

"Life will knock us down. It’s not “will” the storms come but “when.” We have the choice of saying, “I will stand, I will walk forward and believe God’s presence with me is stronger than the problem.” ~ M. Brown

Being Heard

"Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable." ~ David Augsburger

Man's Search for Meaning

“A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the 'why' for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any 'how'.” ~ Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)

Gift of Marriage

"Marriage is a gift from God to us. The quality of that marriage is our gift to Him." ~ Elder Whitney 

Try Something New...

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” ~ Ronald E. Osborn

Love Is...

"Love is not just a sentiment. Love is a great controlling passion and it always expresses itself in terms of obedience." ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Little by Little...

"There is no such thing as instant spiritual transformation. It is an ongoing process of ever-increasing glory. Our character is transformed little by little, a bit at a time." ~ Dave Earley (Living In His Presence)

Faith...

"Faith does not make love and obedience unnecessary, but on the contrary, fosters the growth of love and obedience. Christian perfection is the love and obedience which faith in Christ initiates and develops." ~ Mildred Wynkoop

Godly Men Lead

"It's wrong for men to sit back and let their wife take all, or most of the family responsibilities. Men should help when needed. They should give godly advice and discipline when needed. They should also take their responsibility to lead the family in daily Family Devotions." ~ Colin Campbell

Faith in Jesus

"Faith in Jesus and his grace-filled work on the cross is the means by which the desire of the Spirit wins the battle of wills in our hearts." ~ Eugénio Duarte

Faith...

"Faith, in general, is a divine, supernatural . . . (evidence, or conviction) of things not seen, nor discoverable by our bodily senses, as being either past, future, or spiritual. Justifying faith implies . . . a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that he loved me and gave himself for me. And the moment a penitent sinner believes this, God pardons and absolves him." ~ John Wesley

Power of Prayer

"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference." ~ Max Lucado 

Christ is Risen...I Shall Rise

"Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, "Christ is risen," but "I shall rise." ~ Phillips Brooks

What Money Can't Buy

"It's good to have money and the things money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." ~  George Horace Lorimer

God of the Unbelievable

"We believe that we serve the God of the impossible, the God of the unbelievable." ~ Gustavo Crocker

Ears to Hear...Eyes to See...

'Lord, give me ears to hear your voice and eyes to see you working in my life. I have stilled and quieted my heart. I desire to hear you speaking to me throughout this day."  ~David W. Graves

I Shall Rise

"Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, "Christ is risen," but "I shall rise." ~ Phillips Brooks

Proper Attitude

“Proper attitude in this crisis-dominated world is a priceless possession. Never before is it more important for all of us to move forward with conviction. We may be behind, but we are not losing if we are moving in the right direction. God will not score our performances until the end of the journey.” ~ Marvin J. Ashton

He Is Risen!

"The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice." 
~ Henry Knox Sherrill

People Will Forget What You Said

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou

Get Back Up Again

"When you’re knocked down you don’t have to stay down. By the grace of God who loves you, you can survive, and live again."  ~ Brown

Worst Day

"The devil on his best day cannot take you out on your worst." ~ Christine Caine

God's Plan

"I think God's hope and plan for us is pretty simple to figure out. For those who resonate with formulas, here it is: add your whole life, your loves, your passions, and your interests together with what God said He wants us to be about, and that's your answer." ~ Bob Goff

You Are Not Alone

"As a follower of Jesus—whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances—you are not alone. He is with you in the midst of your service, in the face of uncertainty, or in the moment of crisis." 
~ Jesse C. Middendorf

Desire of the Flesh vs. Desire of the Spirit

"One needs to realize that the desire of the flesh corrupts, divides, prevaricates, destroys, debilitates, and kills, while that of the Spirit brings wholeness as it restores, corrects, shapes, strengthens, and emancipates." ~ Eugénio Duarte