Words to live by.

Romans 12

Living Sacrifices

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his^[b]faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Love

⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[c] Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"^[d]says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."^{[e] 21}Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Well Timed Words

Pastor Steven Furtick

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Well Timed Words Posted: 07 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. -Proverbs 25:11 One of our E-Kidz Directors, Brandon Hibbard, is a master of speaking thoughtful words. He has sent me emails over past years that could serve as case studies in effective encouragement. I’ve asked him to conclude this week’s discussion on thoughtfulness with some practical tips on how to honor others with well-timed words. Guest Blog: Brandon Hibbard, E-Kidz Director It’s been an honor for me to have the opportunity to serve Pastor Furtick over the past couple years, and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to be a voice of encouragement in his life. I heard Pastor Furtick explain one time that the word “encourage” literally means “to give courage,” and that totally transformed my concept of encouragement. Hopefully the thoughts below will help you maximize the impact of your encouragement. Effective encouragement is specific. That means you have to pay attention to the people around you. Exist with an inclination for encouragement, always looking for the positive in people. Specificity in encouragement communicates value. Effective encouragement speaks to things that are meaningful to the recipient. Know what they put time and energy into and acknowledge the difference it makes. Effective encouragement is timely. It should be regular and consistent, but you must also learn specific times or seasons when someone will need extra encouragement. Effective encouragement is unprompted. If someone has to ask you for encouragement, it kinda defeats the purpose. I’ve heard that if you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. The same applies for encouragement. Don’t let your spouse, kids, pastor, or coworkers get dehydrated. Effective encouragement is communicated through the right means. If face-to-face is available, it’s the most effective. But heed Proverbs 27:14 and use some common sense. Effective encouragement does not just come from people with the gift of encouraging, it’s commanded of everyone. It can also be learned, if you put in the practice. I think the most important element to effective encouragement is the “Holy Spirit Factor.” Listen to the prompts in your spirit. God is all-knowing and will ultimately orchestrate timely encouragement for His people. He wants to use you – don’t miss the opportunity!

I agree.

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation
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> > THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!
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> > 'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics.. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'
> >
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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> > Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God..'
> >
> > Think about this: One Nation Under God.

Thank

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day, saying…"I will try again tomorrow."

Quote from Neil Boortz. Do you agree?

The Democrats and looters want you to believe that they're just going to set up a "public option," a government health care plan that will "compete" with the private insurance plans and keep them honest. Do you believe that?

Spontaneous Thoughtfulness

Pastor Steven Furtick

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Spontaneous Thoughtfulness Posted: 05 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Yesterday we discussed the advantages of systematic thoughtfulness. However, no advance strategic planning can replace the value of old-fashioned Spirit-led spontaneous thoughtfulness. The essence of spontaneous thoughtfulness can be summarized in just a few instructions. If you see a need, meet it. If you think a thought of affirmation, give voice to it. If you have a kind idea, implement it. For example, when I heard recently that one of our core team members was moving, I thought: I wonder if they’ve booked a moving truck? I wonder if we could help them with that? Too many times, I’ve let impressions like this die on the vine. More and more, I’m learning to write the impression down, bring it up to the appropriate person the next day, and do everything in my power to turn good intentions into helpful actions. (I sent the moving truck, by the way. The couple was very grateful.) How many encouraging words pass through your head on a daily basis that never make a safe landing in the heart of a recipient? If you think something good, say it! The more accurate and specific, the better. Spontaneous thoughtfulness keeps you tuned into the frequency of the activity of God all around you. And a posture of thoughtfulness increases the likelihood that God will send opportunities for impact into your life.

never give up.

Excerpted from The Best Way Out Is Always Through


Defying the Diagnosis

It was 1962. Stephen Hawking was just twenty-one years old when he received the awful news that would change his life—he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It’s a devastating diagnosis: the disease is progressive, incurable and fatal. His doctors told him he had just a few years to live.

At the time, Hawking was a doctoral student at Cambridge, having already earned a degree from Oxford. But his research hadn’t been going well; he was unmotivated in his work and bored with his life. His diagnosis was a turning point: he could either give up his studies and wait to die, or he could make the most of what time he had left. At first, he chose the road of despair and resignation. He wanted to give up because he didn’t see any point in finishing his degree if he was going to die soon.

But he didn’t give up for long. Through the encouragement and love of his girlfriend, Jane, he pulled out of his despair and found the fire and determination that had been missing before his diagnosis. He married Jane in 1965, finished his studies, and got a job at a university. True, he was afraid of dying, but even more, he was afraid that he would die without achieving anything in his life.

Hawking and Jane had three children together, and she devotedly cared for him year after year as his disease progressed. While his body was deteriorating, his career was blossoming. He was elected as one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society in 1974, became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982, and became a Companion of Honour in 1989. These acknowledgements and public honors were bestowed on Hawking for his contributions to the fields of theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes. He has published hundreds of research papers, as well as six books. His runaway bestseller was A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks—unheard of for a science book.

It’s been over forty years since Hawking got his diagnosis from the doctors. He defied their prediction of an early death, as well as his early impulse to give up. Now completely paralyzed, wheelchair-bound and compelled to use a computer voice synthesizer, he is a respected scientist, a world-renowned celebrity and an inspiration to millions.

In a 2005 interview, Hawking said, “It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” That’s not a bad credo to live by.