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Believing in Advance

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 “If I spend enough time with God, I will inevitably begin to look at the world with a point of view that more resembles God’s own. What is faith, after all, but believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” 

–Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

I need to come into God’s presence daily. Doing so will ensure that I gain a perspective of myself and the world from his vantage point. When I fail to do this, I quickly assume that I am at liberty to live as I please. Apart from God I buy into the ideology of the west that promotes self fulfillment over sacrifice and service. 

Apart from God I self implode and ignore the needs of those around me. The same was true in Paul’s day, which prompted him to say, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”1

Paul follows this with an appeal for Christ’s followers to exercise their spiritual gifts for the sake of the Christian community, as well as the individual serving.

“Lord, give me courage to practice what I intuitively believe, even if it doesn’t make sense at the moment.”

1 Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
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Comments by Rich DuBose. BetterSermons © 2010. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines | View main index

Read more at the source: Believing in Advance

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Inspirational quotes and thoughts.

The Right Thing

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“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

–Benjamin Franklin

Photo: Edwin PP

If you haven’t bitten your tongue lately, then perhaps you’re being too lose with it. If you spend a lot of time around people and like to talk, your “word alert” should be set to high sensitivity.

“It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” –James 3:5-6 (The Message)

Of course, we all make mistakes and say things we wish we hadn’t said, but we don’t have to keep making the same dumb mistakes over and over. By God’s grace our tongues can be “tamed.”

A few years ago I shared something with a friend that I later deeply regretted. I saw the effect it had on several people as it took on its own life and grew beyond its original form. “Like feathers in the wind, our words all fly away, and when they are gone, sometimes we have to pay, I should have known better.”
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Comments by Rich DuBose. BetterSermons © 2010. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines | View main index

Read more at the source: The Right Thing

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Inspirational quotes and thoughts.

Look to the Heavens

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“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens, and say there is no God.”

–Abraham Lincoln

Nature is a powerful weapon in God’s arsenal of spiritual weapons. Being exposed to God’s creation in all of its glory can soften our jaded senses and transform our thinking. Years ago, when only 17-years old, I went on a camp-out with a friends in central California to a place called Pinnacles National Monument. While there I came to my senses and began my life-long journey with God. This was my moment of truth. And nature certainly played a role in bringing me to the point where I was willing to listen to God.
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Comments by Rich DuBose. BetterSermons © 2010. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines | View main index

Read more at the source: Look to the Heavens

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Inspirational quotes and thoughts.

Emotionally Charged

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“We are not just rationale people who respond emotionally once in a while. We are emotional people who respond rationally once in a while.”

–Clarence Schilt, Oregon pastor

We are more emotional than we are rationale. Some are more analytical than others, but in the end everything that happens to us impacts us on an emotional level. As I think back over my life, the experiences I most vividly remember are those that touched my emotions. The rationale decisions I made years ago don’t stand out in my mind. That doesn’t mean they weren’t significant, but they were on a level that didn’t seem as personal.

About eighteen years ago I reached a place in my pastoral work where I felt the need to be stretched. I needed to be challenged in new ways. Some would call it a mid-life crisis! After twelve turbulent, at times tearful, months of trying to figure out what to do, Linda and I finally decided that I would take a leave of absence and head to graduate school. Out of that emotional time we made some rationale decisions that altered the course of our lives. Looking back now I can say it was an exciting time.

It’s OK to be emotional. We are wired that way. Ask God to help you better understand and celebrate the emotional aspects of your life today.

Thumbnail photo by Bas van der Pluym
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Comments by Rich DuBose. BetterSermons © 2009. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines | View main index

Read more at the source: Emotionally Charged

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Inspirational quotes and thoughts.

For How Long?

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“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune, If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”

–Chinese Proverb

When happiness is tied to things or experiences, it eventually fades away. New cars break down, vacations come to an end, and life moves on. Much of what drives the human spirit in its pursuits and achievements is based on passing whims and desires. If we could only see life through God’s eyes. 

From time to time we catch a glimpse of the passion that lights God’s heart when someone embarks on a mission to make the world a better place by giving their time, effort and means to cure diseases, help orphans, lift broken spirits, win peace, fight poverty, and share the gospel of Jesus!

Isn’t it wonderful that when we seek to bless others our own happiness is increased. 
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Comments by Rich DuBose. BetterSermons © 2009. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines | View main index

Read more at the source: For How Long?

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Inspirational quotes and thoughts.

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