Rick Warren

280 quotes

• You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense.

• Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.

• Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past. Listen: those who 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 sake, learn from it, and then let it go.

• Trusting God completely means having faith that He knows what is best for your life. You expect Him to keep His promises, help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary.

• Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.

• You weren't put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity.

• A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.

• Relationships are always worth restoring.

• Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day.

• The deepest level of worship is praising God inspite of pain, trusting Him during a trial, surrendering while suffering, and loving Him when He seems distant.

• In all my travels, I've never seen a country's population more determined to forgive, and to build and succeed than in Rwanda.

• Grief is a good thing. It's the way we get through the transitions of life.

• In Eden, worship was not an event to attend, but a perpetual attitude.

• If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.

• Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in some churches.

• 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 consequence of that choice.

• Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven!

• If you are a member of a small group or class, I urge you to make a group covenant that includes the nine characteristics of biblical fellowship: We will share our true feelings (authenticity), forgive each other (mercy), speak the truth in love (honesty), admit our weaknesses (humility), respect our differences (courtesy), not gossip (confidentiality), and make group a priority (frequency).

• The purpose of influence is to "speak up for those who have no influence." (Pr.31:8) It's not about you.

• God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do. Attitudes count more than achievements.

• While it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others.

• Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom, and power. Life just has to go on!

• There's a Grand Designer behind everything. Your life is not a result of random chance, fate, or luck. There is a master plan. History is His story. God is pulling the strings.

• You're only as sick as your secrets.

• Love should be your top priority, primary objective, and greatest ambition. Love is not a good part of your life; it’s the most important part. The Bible says, “Let love be your greatest aim.

• The way you see your life shapes your life.

• 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 sake, learn from it, and then let it go.

• We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.

• Because God is with you all the time, no place is any closer to God than the place where you are right now.

• Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment.

• Measured against eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye, but the consequences of it will last forever.

• 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 ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns.

• A truly free society protects all faiths, and true faith protects a free society.

• 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 at 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” (Ephesians 5:2, LB).

• 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 to just say relationships are important; we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless. "My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action." Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is "T-I-M-E.

• You cannot fulfil God's purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.

• If you prayed as much as you complain and quarrel, you'd have a lot less to argue about and much more peace of mind.

• Being successful and fulfilling your life's purpose are not at all the same thing; You can reach all your personal goals, become a raving success by the worlds standard and still miss your purpose in this life.

• Happy moments, PRAISE GOD Difficult moments, SEEK GOD Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD Painful moments, TRUST GOD Every moment, THANK GOD

• Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test... You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies.

• Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy.

• God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time.

• When you think 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!

• Many of your relationship problems are not really relationship problems. They're personal problems that spill over into relationships.

• With his arms outstretched, nailed to the cross, Jesus was saying, “This is how valuable you are to me. I love you this much! I’d rather die than live without you.” You are priceless.

• If you’re losing the battle against a persistent bad habit, an addiction, or a temptation, and you’re stuck in a repeating cycle of good intention-failure-guilt, you will not get better on your own! You need the help of other people. Some temptations are only overcome with the help of a partner who prays for you, encourages you, and holds you accountable.

• Measured against eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye...

• God sometimes removes a person from your life for your protection. Don't run after them.

• The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve.

• The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.

• Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don't think of themselves.

• The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose.

• As long as you do things for God, you are a Hall of Famer in heaven's list.

• Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.

• Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.

• Every church could put out a sign No perfect people need apply. This is a place only for those who admit they are sinners, need grace, and want to grow.

• Put Jesus Christ in the driver’s seat of your life and take your hands off the steering wheel.

• I expect God to use me, not because of who I am but because of who Jesus is. Not because of what I've done, but because of what Jesus has done.

• If perfection was a requirement for friendship with God, we would never be able to be his friends. Fortunately, because of God’s grace, Jesus is still the friend of sinners.

• Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you. Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.

• God intentionally allows you to go through painful experiences to equip you for ministry to others.

• If you want God to bless you and use you greatly, you must be willing to walk with a limp the rest of your life, because God uses weak people.

• We’re not completely happy here because we’re not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.

• Frankness is not a license to say anything you want, wherever and whenever you want. It is not rudeness.

• Then 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.

• If God only used perfect people, nothing would get done. God will use anybody if you're available.

• 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.

• You can use your time to build bridges or walls. The latter is not only unChristlike, it limits impact & creates loneliness.

• Unfortunately, we forget the cruel details of the agonizing sacrifice God made on our behalf. Familiarity breeds complacency. Even before his crucifixion, the Son of God was stripped naked, beaten until almost unrecognizable, whipped, scorned and mocked, crowned with thorns, and spit on contemptuously. Abused and ridiculed by heartless men, he was treated worse than an animal. Then, nearly unconscious from blood loss, he was forced to drag a cumbersome cross up a hill, was nailed to it, and was left to die the slow, excruciating torture of death by crucifixion. While his lifeblood drained out, hecklers stood by and shouted insults, making fun of his pain and challenging his claim to be God.

• Hiding your hurt only intensifies it. Problems grow in the dark and become bigger and bigger, but when exposed to the light of truth, they shrink. You are only as sick as your secrets. So take off your mask, stop pretending you’re perfect, and walk into freedom.

• True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.

• Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.

• The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

• If you have felt hopeless, hold on! Wonderful changes are going to happen in your life as you begin to live it on purpose.

• 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. You don’t edge others out, you don’t demand your rights, and you aren’t self-serving when you’re surrendered.

• If you have ever said, "I didn't get anything out of worship today," you worshiped for the wrong reason. Worship isn't for you. It's for God.

• Surrender... sacrificing my life or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed.

• God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

• The key to friendship with God, he said, is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do.

• When God wants to make a mushroom, he does it overnight, but when He wants to make a giant oak, He takes a hundred years. Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering. Be patient with the process.

• You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.

• Spiritual emptiness is a universal disease.

• Feelings are not always true or logical. In fact, resentment makes us act and think in foolish ways. The psalmist admitted, “When my thoughts were bitter and my feelings were hurt, I was as stupid as an animal.”14 We all act beastly when hurt.

• The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who don't have any influence.

• Jesus taught that spiritual maturity is never an end in itself. Maturity is for ministry! We grow up in order to give out. It is not enough to keep learning more and more. We must act on what we know and practice what we claim to believe.

• You cannot arrive at your life’s purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. You must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God... and until you understand that, life will never make sense. 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.

• the moment you stop learning, you stop leading.

• You can't grow strong without resistance.

• Knowing your purpose motivates your life.

• You didn't create yourself, so there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for.

• The New testament 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 each other, and many other mutual tasks. This is biblical membership!

• If you don’t know how to be happy with what you have, you will never be happy with more.

• The way you see your life shapes your life. How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents, and value your relationships.

• 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.

• Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction and events without reason. Without a purpose life is trivial, petty, and pointless.

• But God’s presence in your life has nothing to do with your feelings. Your emotions are susceptible to all kinds of influences, so they are often unreliable. Sometimes the worst advice you can get is “Do what you feel.” Often what we feel is neither real nor right. Your emotional state can be the result of memories, hormones, medicines, food, lack of sleep, tension, or fears. Whenever I start to feel anxious about a situation, I remind myself that fear is often False Evidence Appearing Real.

• Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others.

• Your value is not determined by your valuables, and God says the most valuable things in life are not things!

• Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.

• The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it... that’s how we learn.

• Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions.

• The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.

• Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren't rubbed in but rubbed out. Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice.

• We are healed to help others. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are saved to serve, not to sit around and wait for heaven.

• You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

• Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.

• Knowing your purpose focuses your life.

• You didn’t create yourself, so there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for! If I handed you an invention you had never seen before, you wouldn’t know it’s purpose, and the invention itself wouldn’t be able to tell you either. Only the creator or the owner’s manual could reveal it’s purpose.

• Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.

• Without God's glory, there would be nothing.

• We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference point of our lives.

• Prayer lets you speak to God; meditation lets God speak to you. Both are essential to becoming a friend of God.

• Repetition is the mother of character and skill.

• Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless.

• Love others as you love yourself. Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature. That’s why we’re 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. As we have already seen, this is the second purpose for your life. Peter tells us, Show special love for God’s people. Paul echoes this sentiment: 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.

• Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else.

• We're always just one decision away from disaster. When you lack wisdom, ask God who gives generously to all. James1:5

• If you are serious about changing your life, you are going to have to get into the Bible.

• If you would like to increase the amount of happiness you experience in life, here is one of the secrets: learn to enjoy the successes and joys of others.

• 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, not the world’s wisdom. You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories. The Bible says, “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 out in everything and everyone.

• You are who you are for a reason. You’re part of an intricate plan. You’re a precious and perfect unique design, Called God’s special woman or man. You look like you look for a reason. Our God made no mistake. He knit you together within the womb, You’re just what he wanted to make. The parents you had were the ones he chose, And no matter how you may feel, They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind, And they bear the Master’s seal. No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so; But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into his likeness you’d grow. You are who you are for a reason, You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod. You are who you are, beloved, Because there is a God!

• This poem by Russell Kelfer sums it up: You are who you are for a reason. You’re part of an intricate plan. You’re a precious and perfect unique design, Called God’s special woman or man. You look like you look for a reason. Our God made no mistake. He knit you together within the womb, You’re just what he wanted to make. The parents you had were the ones he chose, And no matter how you may feel, They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind, And they bear the Master’s seal. No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so; But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into his likeness you’d grow. You are who you are for a reason, You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod. You are who you are, beloved, Because there is a God!

• 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. This is the beginning of real community.

• 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 sake, 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.

• living for God’s glory is the greatest achievement we can accomplish with our lives.

• Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature. That’s why we’re given a lifetime to learn it.

• Worship is far more than praising, singing, and praying to God. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving him, and giving ourselves to be used for his purposes.

• Dear Jesus, more than anything else, I want to get to know you intimately.

• Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.

• 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 this. Many have said to me, “I don’t understand my wife and kids. I provide everything they need. What more could they want?” They want you! Your eyes, your ears, your time, your attention, your presence, your focus

• Thinking about My Purpose POINT TO PONDER: There is more to life than just here and now. VERSE TO REMEMBER: “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) QUESTION TO CONSIDER: 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?

• every church and in every small group, there is always at least one difficult person, usually more than one. These people may have special emotional needs, deep insecurities, irritating mannerisms, or poor social skills. You might call them EGR people... Extra Grace Required. God put these people in our midst for both their benefit and ours. They are an opportunity for growth and a test of fellowship: Will we love them as brothers and sisters and treat them with dignity?

• 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.

• Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God’s greatest pleasure.

• Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about “having it all” on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt with the 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.

• 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

• While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only two: heaven or hell. Your relationship to 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. On the other hand, if you reject his love, forgiveness, and salvation, you will spend eternity apart from God forever.

• Death is not your termination but your transition into eternity, so there are eternal consequences to everything you do on earth. Every act of our lives strikes some chord that will vibrate in eternity.

• 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.

• Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals... hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, Maybe this time it will be different, but it doesn’t solve your real problem... a lack of focus and purpose.

• All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It is loving anything else more than God.

• There are three barriers that block our total surrender to God: fear, pride, and confusion. We don’t realize how much God loves us, we want to control our own lives, and we misunderstand the meaning of surrender.

• One day God will review your answers to these life questions. Did you put Jesus at the center of your life? Did you develop his character? Did you devote your life to serving others? Did you communicate his message and fulfill his mission? Did you love and participate in his family? These are the only issues that will count. As Paul said, Our goal is to measure up to God’s plan for us.

• While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only two: heaven or hell. Your relationship to God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity.

• 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. You don’t edge others out, you don’t demand your rights, and you aren’t self-serving when you’re surrendered.

• We are healed to help others. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are saved to serve, not to sit around and wait for heaven.

• Where is the glory of God? Just look around. Everything created by God reflects his glory in some way. We see it everywhere, from the smallest microscopic form of life to the vast Milky Way, from sunsets and stars to storms and seasons. Creation reveals our Creator’s glory. In nature we learn that God is powerful, that he enjoys variety, loves beauty, is organized, and is wise and creative. The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God.

• From the Bible we can surmise that God will ask us two crucial questions: First, “What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?” God won’t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him? Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”17 Second, “What did you do with what I gave you?” What did you do with your life... all the gifts, talents, opportunities, energy, relationships, and resources God gave you? Did you spend them on yourself, or did you use them for the purposes God made you for?

• You are never persuasive when you're abrasive.

• We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely.

• 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 an accident. God didn’t give you your abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit. The Bible says, “God has given gifts to each of you from 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 the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory.

• To discover you purpose in life you must turn to God's Word, not the world's wisdom. You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories.

• Remember, you will take your character into eternity, but not your career.

• Point to Ponder: If there were no God, and everything was a result of random chance, there would be no purpose to your life. It all starts with God.

• Most important, you must learn to love lost people the way God does.

• Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.

• Whose opinion matters most to you? Whoever that person is, is your god. When you value anyone’s opinions more than God’s, you give that person power and authority that belongs only to God. That creates all kinds of insecurity within you. On the other hand, when God’s approval matters the most to you, it sets you free from insecurity, because he will never reject you.

• It seems we are often guilty of being more interested in defending God’s Word than in studying it.

• Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be.

• Pride builds walls between people; humility builds bridges.

• 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 the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, You cannot serve both God and money and Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also.

• William James said, “The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.

• God warns us to not get too attached to what’s around us because it is temporary. We’re told, Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.

• Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other’s feelings, and being patient with people who irritate us.

• The Bible says, We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Our English word poem comes from the Greek word translated workmanship. You are God’s handcrafted work of art. You are not an assembly-line product, mass produced without thought. You are a custom-designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece.

• When you use your life for God’s glory, everything you do can become an act of worship. The Bible says, Use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.

• Throw yourself into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.

• God has never been impressed with strength or self-sufficiency. In fact, he is drawn to people who are weak and admit it.

• Humility is not putting yourself down or denying your strengths; rather, it is being honest about your weaknesses. The more honest you are, the more of God’s grace you get.

• Peace with God, peace with others, and peace in your own heart.

• When you live in light of eternity, your focus changes from “How much pleasure am I getting out of life?” to “How much pleasure is God getting out of my life?

• God was thinking of you long before you ever thought about him.

• The first way to balance stress in my life is to get an internal balance of who I am. And I know who I am by knowing whose I am. I am a child of God. I was put on earth not by accident, but for a purpose. I am deeply loved by God. I am accepted by him. He has a plan for my life, and because he put me here, I am significant.

• This action step should be personal (involving you), practical something you can do, and provable with a deadline to do it.

• The most common myth about money is that having more will make me more secure. It won’t. 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.

• Gossip is passing on information when you are neither part of the problem nor part of the solution.

• Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s, is really a struggle with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we are going to win that struggle.

• If you want to know how valuable your life is to God, just look at the cross. With his arms outstretched, nailed to the cross, Jesus was saying, “This is how valuable you are to me. I love you this much! I’d rather die than live without you.” You are priceless.

• We often forget that God has emotions, too. He 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, gets pleasure, rejoices, enjoys, and even laughs!

• 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.

• All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It 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. In different ways we have all lived for our own glory, not God’s. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

• if you live for the approval of others, you will die by their rejection.

• Knowing your purpose motivates your life. Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose. On the other hand, passion dissipates when you lack a purpose. Just getting out of bed becomes a major chore. It is usually meaningless work, not overwork, that wears us down, saps our strength, and robs our joy.

• Why you do what you do matters the most to God.

• We bring God glory by loving other believers.

• God is far more interested in what you are than in what you do. We are human beings, not 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.

• Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals... hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart.

• The book of Proverbs warns us over and over again about negative associations. Constant exposure to wrong attitudes and wrong values will eventually take its toll in our lives. It is always easier to pull someone down than it is to lift him up. What kind of friends should you have? The kind who bring out the best in you, who lift you up, who encourage you, who make you a better person.

• What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?

• 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. Instead, you should go directly to the person involved.

• 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... your self-will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.

• But we are commanded to recognize his glory, honor his glory, declare his glory, praise his glory, reflect his glory, and live for his glory. Why? Because God deserves it! We owe him every honor we can possibly give. Since God made all things, he deserves all the glory. The Bible says, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything.

• This is what God wants most from you: a relationship!

• God has never made a person he didn’t love. Everybody matters to him.

• here is the good news, the truth that will set you free: You don’t need their approval to be happy! So let it go! Stop wasting emotional energy on something that is never going to happen and something that isn’t necessary for you to be happy. They are miserable, but you don’t have to be. There is no sane reason for both of you to be miserable!

• Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him, because he came to serve. It wasn’t in spite of his greatness that he did these things, but because of it, and he expects us to follow his example.

• When you think 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! You just need to switch your attention from your problems to Bible verses. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the less you will have to worry about.

• 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?

• When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.

• He gave us taste buds, then filled the world with incredible flavors like chocolate and cinnamon and all the other spices. He gave us eyes to perceive color and then filled the world with a rainbow of shades. He gave us sensitive ears and then filled the world with rhythms and music. Your capacity for enjoyment is evidence of God's love for you. He could have made the world tasteless, colorless, and silent. The Bible says that God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." He didn't have to do it, but he did, because He loves us.

• You cannot keep yourself from talking about what you care about most. Jesus said, A man’s heart determines his speech.

• Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.

• A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. PROVERBS 11:28 (MSG)

• If there was no God, we would all be “accidents,” the result of astronomical random chance in the universe. You could stop reading this book, because life would have no purpose or meaning or significance. There would be no right or wrong, and no hope beyond your brief years here on earth.

• Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don’t edge others out, you don’t demand your rights, and you aren’t self-serving when you’re surrendered.

• In contrast, 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 perspective of others. Listening says, I value your opinion, I care about our relationship, and you matter to me. The cliché is true: People don’t care what we know until they know we care.

• Gratitude asks, Why me? Why do I get all that I have? David modeled this kind of gratitude when he prayed, Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 15 Years later, his son would write, It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.

• A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. PROVERBS 11:28

• We bring God glory by becoming like Christ.

• anyone in recovery will tell you, setbacks are part of the process in long-term change. Rather than beat myself up, I simply asked God and my friends to help me get back on track.

• God specializes in turning weaknesses into strengths. He wants to take your greatest weakness and transform it.

• What is your view of life? You may be basing your life on a faulty life metaphor. To fulfill the purposes God made you for, you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with the biblical metaphors of life. The Bible says, “Do not 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.

• Self-worth and net worth are not the same. Your value is not determined by your valuables, and God says the most valuable things in life are not things!

• When someone begins to gossip to you, have the courage to say, “Please stop. I don’t need to know this. Have you talked directly to that person?” People who gossip to you will also gossip about you. They cannot be trusted.

• 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, “We know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character.

• Many people are driven by guilt. They spend their entire lives running from regrets and hiding their shame. Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories. They allow their past to control their future. They often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their own success.

• We often forget that God has emotions, too. He 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, gets pleasure, rejoices, enjoys, and even laughs!

• If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.

• 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.

• THE HEART OF WORSHIP IS SURRENDER.

• The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it. The same is true for discovering your life’s purpose: Ask God.

• Character is both developed and revealed by test and all of life is a test.

• Without faith it is impossible to please God.

• IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.

• 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.

• The first misconception is that we confuse fear with humility. We tend to say, “Oh, I could never do that,” and we think we’re being humble. But that is not humility. That is fear; that is a lack of faith. A truly humble person would say, With God’s help, I can do it. With God’s blessing, I will do it. I may not be able to do it on my own, but with God’s help I will do it. That’s real humility.

• When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable.

• We must care about unbelievers because God does. Love leaves no choice. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. A parent will run into a burning building to save a child because their love for that child is greater than their fear.

• Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at that moment. People who don’t know their purpose try to do too much... and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict.

• God often attaches a major weakness to a major strength to keep our egos in check. A limitation can act as a governor to keep us from going too fast and running ahead of God.

• If you are in a period of discouragement because you are going through a trial and you are asking yourself, “Why is this happening to me?” consider this: Never make a major decision when you are depressed. Often, when we get discouraged, we are tempted to say, “I’m just going to quit” or “I’m going to move” or “I’m going to change jobs” or “I’m going to file for divorce.” Never make a major decision when you are depressed, because at that time your feelings are unreliable and you cannot exercise accurate judgment. Your focus is blurry, and your perspective is distorted. Instead, face the storm head-on and don’t get involved in self-pity.

• it’s hard to be spiritually strong and mentally alert when you are emotionally stressed or physically fatigued.

• To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. 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.

• 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.

• Imagine if you were asked by your country to be an ambassador to an enemy nation. You would probably have to learn a new language and adapt to some customs and cultural differences in order to be polite and accomplish your mission. As an ambassador you would not be able to isolate yourself from the enemy. To fulfill your mission, you would have to have contact and relate to them.

• Worship helps people focus on God; fellowship helps them face life’s problems; discipleship helps fortify their faith; ministry helps them find their talents; and evangelism helps them fulfill their mission.

• His 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.

• Love means giving up - yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else.

• As so many people in the Bible did, tell God exactly how you feel.

• So 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.” 2 CORINTHIANS 4:18

• Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.

• God’s purpose is not limited by your past.

• 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.

• Imagine how much needless frustration could be avoided if we learned from each other’s life lessons. Mature people develop the habit of extracting lessons from everyday experiences.

• If you have a relationship with God through Jesus, you don’t need to fear death. It is the door to eternity. It will be the last hour of your time on earth, but it won’t be the last of you. Rather than being the end of your life, it will be your birthday into eternal life. The Bible says, “This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.

• The first thing on Dr. Amen’s master to-do list, the first thing he sees each day, is his gratitude list. Rather than just writing down a few things, he keeps a running tab on what he is grateful for, looks at it every day, and adds to it as joyful moments occur.

• Spiritual maturity is becoming 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.

• This self-absorbed perspective treats God as a genie who simply exists to serve you in your selfish pursuit of personal fulfillment. But 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.

• You only believe the part of the Bible you do.

• The only group large enough to handle," the world's biggest, "problems is the network of millions of local churches around the world. We have the widest distribution, largest group of volunteers, local credibility, the promises of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the inevitability of history.

• God wants your life... all of it. Ninety-five percent is not enough.

• by God and for God... and until you understand

• It’s encouraging to know that all of God’s closest friends... Moses, David, Abraham, Job, and others... had bouts with doubt. But instead of masking their misgivings with pious clichés, they candidly voiced them openly and publicly. Expressing doubt is sometimes the first step toward the next level of intimacy with God.

• In Matthew 20, Jesus told the story of a landowner who hired several men at different times of the day to work in his field. At the end of the day, the landowner unexpectedly paid all of them the same amount for their work. Obviously this didn’t bother the last-minute hires, but the men who had worked all day complained loudly that the landowner was being unfair. They said, “These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun!” 17 I love the landowner’s reply: “Friend, I didn’t cheat you. I paid you exactly what we agreed on. Take your money now and go! What business is it of yours if I want to pay them the same that I paid you? Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Why should you be jealous, if I want to be generous?” 18 I love the landowner’s frankness: “Take what is yours and go your way!” 19 In other words, “Stop resenting my grace to others, be grateful for what you’ve got, and move on with your life now!” That advice will keep you from getting caught in the envy trap and being detoured from the path God has laid out for you.

• We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. When faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller or shorter, smarter, stronger, more talented, more beautiful, and wealthier. We want to have it all and do it all, and we become upset when it doesn’t happen. Then when we notice that God gave others characteristics we don’t have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity.

• the two biggest hindrances to living the life God designed you to live: Wanting to be like others (envy), and wanting to be liked by others (people-pleasing.) These traps are subtle, but they distract and detour millions of people from the purposes they were created to fulfill.

• You may have had unpleasable teachers or parents as you were growing up. Please don’t assume God feels that way about you. He 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.

• The Good News is that when we trust God’s grace to save us through what Jesus did, our sins are forgiven, we get a purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven.

• 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.

• Failure is a part of everyone’s journey. But it is your attitude toward failure that will determine your ultimate success.

• When you live in light of eternity, your values change. You use your time and money more wisely. You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore. Paul said, I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

• Every parent knows that delayed obedience is really disobedience.

• Worldly Christians look to God primarily for personal fulfillment. They are saved, but self-centered. They love to attend concerts and enrichment seminars, but you would never find them at a missions conference because they aren’t interested. Their prayers focus on their own needs, blessings, and happiness. It’s a “me-first” faith: How can God make my life more comfortable? They want to use God for their purposes instead of being used for his purposes.

• When you don’t know whom you’re trying to please, you cave in to three things: criticism because you are concerned about what others will think of you, competition because you worry about whether somebody else is getting ahead of you, and conflict because you’re threatened when anyone disagrees with you.

• This is the paradox: victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn’t weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrendered to God, you don’t have to fear or surrender to anything else.

• You cannot make God stop loving you, because his love is based on who he is, not what you do. It is based on his character, not your conduct.

• Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. When you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant. It 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?

• God has not called you to be the best in the world at anything! He has called you to be the best you can be, given your background, experiences, opportunities, and abilities.

• Surrendered people obey God’s word, even if it doesn’t make sense.

• Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives.

• God’s glory is best seen in Jesus Christ. He, 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 Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory … a glory full of grace and truth.

• Jesus honored God by fulfilling his purpose on earth. We honor God the same way. When anything in creation fulfills its purpose, it brings glory to God.

• How would it make you feel if God showed you what you could have accomplished in life if you had just believed him a little bit more?

• You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies.

• The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving him when he seems distant.

• 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.

• To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.

• In contrast, world-class Christians know they were saved to serve and made for a mission. They are eager to receive a personal assignment and excited about the privilege of being used by God. World-class Christians are the only fully alive people on the planet. Their joy, confidence, and enthusiasm are contagious because they know they’re making a difference. They wake up each morning expecting God to work through them in fresh ways. Which type of Christian do you want to be?

• The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God’s view of life: Life is a test, life is a trust, and life is a temporary assignment. These ideas are the foundation of purpose-driven living.

• If you're alive, there's a purpose for your life.