In order to have influence, you have to be influenced.
God is immutable—He never changes! His ministry to you is complete, on target, and constant!
She thought about how it was so simple with animals. They gave their hearts without question or fear. They had no expectations. They were so easy to love. If people could only be like that, no one would ever be hurt, she thought. No one would ever need to learn how to forgive.
Remember to say what you mean, but don't say it meanly.
God uses the flawed, the failures, and the imperfect to accomplish His perfect will.
And now, dear Lord, I acknowledge afresh that You are the God of all peace, my Jehovah-Shalom. My job is to receive. you give me Your peace. My job is to take it. You lead me to Your still waters. My role is to follow. You extend Your hand. My role is to take hold. My I enjoy Your presence and the tranquility of the still waters where You pour out your promise of peace. Amen.
Expectations destroy our peace of mind. They are future disappointments, planned out in advance.
I refused to beat my head against stone, of course.
I want to love and be loved. . . . I don't want a world without love or grief or beauty. I'd rather die.
Many people operate as though the definition of faith were, Don't ask questions, just believe. They quote Jesus himself, who taught his followers to have the faith of a child (Mark 10:15). But I once heard Francis Schaeffer respond by saying, "Don't you realize how many questions children ask?"
The developing coherence of Asian regional thinking is reflected in a disposition to consider problems and loyalties in regional terms, and to evolve regional approaches to development needs and to the evolution of a New World Order.