Preach it!

Nuggets of wisdom I've gathered and saved this year.  

These first few from my girl, Lysa TerKeurst...

• The things we chase in this world are so opposite from God’s love. False attempts at love will make us impatient, unkind, envious, self-seeking, resistant to the truth, reckless and temporary.
• When making decisions I've stopped asking, "What should I do?" Now I ask, "What would honor God the most?" That's the shortest pathway to experiencing satisfaction in Him.
• We must never look at the commands and forget the intent of the commander. To follow Jesus is to filter all through love.
• The one who obeys God’s instruction for today, will know His direction for tomorrow.
• Wisdom makes decisions today that will still be good tomorrow.
• Worry less. Worship more. My battle strategy.
• Trusting God's plan is the only secret I know in the gentle art of not freaking out.

This knife-sharp insight from Tim Kellar...

• Wherever your emotions are out of control, there is your idol.

These snippets from You and Me Forever by Francis and Lisa Chan...

• Eternal-mindedness keeps us from silly arguments.
• If we don't stare at God, we'll spend our time staring at lesser things.  Namely, ourselves.
• We hear strong opinions from arrogant people all day long.  We need to cleanse our minds by reminding each other of God's actual words.
• Isaiah 55:8-9 - If those words are true, we should stop wasting time searching our own minds and spend our days studying His.
• When we consider the biblical storyline as a whole, our over-prioritization of our human relationships looks absurd.  The Bible begins with a Being so powerful that His words command non-existent things to exist, and they obey.  It presents to us a Being so holy and just that He once drowned every person on earth, sparing only the eight who still looked to Him.  This book is full of examples of God punishing the arrogant and blessing the humble.  And the Bible concludes with visions of a terrifying and future judgement, where every person is cast eternally into either a place of perfect pleasure in union with God or a place of ultimate pain apart from Him.  God takes center stage in every story of Scripture.  He is the Creator of life, the Judge, and the Savior.  So while the Bible does talk about marriage, let's be careful not to use the Bible just to find helpful tips on marriage.  There is a much, much bigger picture.  Draw close to Him and let your marriage be the overflow of that.
• The difference between a true Christian and a non-Christian is not about subtle moral distinctions - it's the difference between being alive and being dead!
• We live during an amazing time in human history.  This period where the Spirit of God dwells within believers is not a cheap substitute for the temple or Jesus.
• [James 4:6 says God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.] Let this sink into your brain:  God actively fights against the proud person. The pride required to win your argument and defeat your "enemy" provides you with a new opponent:  God.
• He is so beautiful that we would be fools to resist becoming like Him.
• What about your life indicates that you are not living for this world?
• Stare at the unseen. The eternal. Don't become blinded by the transient.
• If you would rather watch your kids grow up than see the face of your Savior today, you don't grasp the beauty of God. If you worry about what would happen to your children if you were gone, you don't understand the providence of God.
• This is what I long to be!  A strong woman who is anchored in God's promises.  But it starts by setting down your roots in God's Word.  It will not happen as you stand up for yourself, and demand attention, and fight for yourself.  It will happen as your stand in Christ, and demand that He gets your attention, and fight for His glory.

These from sermons at church...

• God's only and repeated consolation in the Minor Prophets?  "I am with you."  His presence is the greatest blessing that God can give!
• Press the truth of God's sovereignty into your circumstances.
• Learn to talk with the Lord as if He were right beside you ... as He is.
• Compassion and conviction are not self-sustainable; they are empowered by awe and joy in God.
• Deference + Thankfulness + Commitment (to God) = Worship. 
• Let your worship cause you to love others.
• The truest things about you are God's promises.
• God designs our discipleship by the experiences we have - "customized discipleship".

Some power-packed words from hymns we've sung ...

• Tune my heart to sing thy grace
• Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise
• His law is love and his gospel is peace
• Bind my wandering hear to Thee (prone to wander, Lord, I feel it)
• Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea, a great High Priest whose name is Love, who ever lives and pleads for me
• My name is graven on His hands, my name is written on His heart, I know that while in heaven He stands, no tongue can big me thence depart

 And from the most fitting of all sources of wisdom, the Bible, which is wisdom itself...

• Proverbs 16:32 - Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
• Regarding spiritual fit-ness, 1 Timothy 4:7-8 ... "Train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come."
• Psalm 119:93 - I will never forget your commandments, for by them you give me life.
• Exodus 14:14 - The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.
• Regarding the power of our thinking, this protective and beneficial command in Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
• More on our minds from Colossians 3:1-3 - Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden in Christ with God.
• Colossians 3:12 - Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
• My prayer for my children - Ephesians 3:16-19 - I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.