12 More Quotes From “Intentional Living”

Intentional LivingThere’s always tons of great content in a John Maxwell book, and Intentional Living was no exception. Here’s the second set of quotes from Dr. Maxwell from this book.

“Self-centeredness and fulfillment cannot peacefully coexist. They’re incompatible.”

“As you start your day, are you wondering what you will reap, or are you wondering what you will sow? Are you waiting for others to do something for you, or are you busy looking for something to do for others?”

“If you only place a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the rest of the world will not raise the price. And as a result of your own low self-esteem and poor sense of self-worth, you will fail to make a positive difference in the lives of others because you’ll think you have little to offer.”

“History tells us that in every age there comes a time when leaders must come forth to meet the needs of the hour. Therefore, there is no potential leader who does not have an opportunity to better mankind.”

“Once you taste significance, success will never again satisfy you.”

“I know without a doubt that every day since I started asking God to bring me people who desired significance, He has been sending them into my life so that we could make a difference together. And God continues to send them.”

“Almost everything you and I want is on the other side of fear. How do you handle that? … I don’t believe God gives me a dream to frustrate me. He gives me a dream to be fulfilled. … Fear is the most prevalent reason why people stop. Faith is what makes people start. Fear is the key that locks the door to the resources. Faith is the key that opens that door. When your dream of significance is right, it should increase your faith. … Faith should help you see the invisible and do the impossible.”

“There are no great men or women. There are just great challenges that ordinary people like you and me are willing to tackle. … Nothing separates passionate people from passive people like a call to step up.”

“Dreams often come one size too big so that we can grow into them.”

“Most people miss opportunities in life, not because the opportunity wasn’t there, but because they didn’t have a clue what it looked like when it arrived. They never took the time to figure out what they were looking for. It’s all about intentionality. You have to know what you’re looking for if you want to find it.”

“When partnering with people, don’t choose based on what they say they can do, or based on what they did once. Choose based on their regular behaviors. That’s what tells you what their values are. Too often our choices are made by what we could or think we should do rather than what we usually do. We are all human, so we should give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But we also need to be realistic.”

“Plans rarely stay the same, and are scrapped or adjusted as needed. Vision is only refined by failure. It’s important to remain stubborn about your vision, but flexible with your plan.”

To read the first set of Maxwell quotes from Intentional Living, please click here.

To read some of the quotes that John Maxwell used in his book, please click here.

To read my review of Intentional Living, please click here.

Links & Quotes

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“If then, Christian, you believe the gospel to be ‘glad tidings’ (Luke 1:19; 8:1), show that you believe it, by lighting up your face with a smile.” —Charles Bridges

“God’s yardstick for measuring faithfulness is how faithful you are with your own gifts. You are not responsible for the nature of your gift. But you are responsible for how you use it!” —Max Lucado

J. Warner Wallace shares some of his favorite sources for Christians to make their case.

How to keep your gratitude going after Thanksgiving Day.

From Live Action: “Extremists have made the 2016 election about attacking reproductive rights,” Cecile Richards says in the video. “Enough is enough.” Yes, Ms. Richards—enough IS enough:

  • when it comes to the slaughter of preborn babies in the womb. (327,653 reported in their 2013-2014 annual report)
  • when it comes to harvesting their body parts for profit.
  • when it comes to $528 million tax dollars annually to the abortion chain while Planned Parenthood directors receive six digit salaries.
  • when it comes to Planned Parenthood pushing sexual deviancy on teens.
  • when Planned Parenthood covers up the sexual abuse of young girls.
  • when Planned Parenthood names its highest award after its founder, Margaret Sanger, a known Klan speaker and supporter of racist eugenics.
  • of ambulances summoned to Planned Parenthood due to abortion complications.
  • of the silence when Planned Parenthood leaves a Black woman on the table to bleed to death after an abortion.
  • of Planned Parenthood’s lies.
  • nearly one-quarter of all Planned Parenthood’s revenue comes from abortions.

[VIDEO] I like what Barnabas Piper says about how the church should handle questions—

Poetry Saturday— A Grammarian’s Funeral

Robert BrowningThat low man seeks a little thing to do,
Sees it and does it:
This high man, with a great thing to pursue,
Dies ere he knows it.
That low man goes on adding one to one,
His hundred’s soon hit:
This high man, aiming at a million,
Misses an unit.
That, has the world here—should he need the next
Let the world mind him!
This, throws himself on God, and unperplexed,
Seeking shall find Him. —Robert Browning

Links & Quotes

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“No man can murder his brother who has not first murdered God in himself.” —Oswald Chambers

“We love our neighbors when, like Jesus, we seek them out to love them (cf. Luke 19:1-10). Jesus did not wait for lost or hurting people to find their way to Him. He went looking for them. He learned the names of many of them, and used their names freely. He took the initiative in making certain contacts, some of which He repeated many times during His earthly sojourn. Jesus started conversations with people and was doubtless a good listener. And He prayed often for others, seeking their wellbeing before the Father. We can know that we love our neighbors when, like Jesus, we go seeking them, in order to touch them with His love.” —T.M. Moore

“The Word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of His judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies. Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. Neither will cheating, or dressing provocatively, or throwing away my sexual purity, or keeping quiet about dishonesty at work, or divorce, or vengeance. And what rescues me from this deception is the Word of God.” —John Piper

“If you spend too much time looking for your next big break, you’ll be stealing your opportunity to do your best work. Which is the the most important break of all.” —Seth Godin

“God’s definition of promotion isn’t a move up the ladder, it is a move toward your call. Don’t let someone ‘promote’ you out of your call!” —Max Lucado

“In the parable of Matthew 18:23-27 did the king overlook his servant’s sin? Did he wink at his debt and merely excuse it? No, not at all. The fact is, by forgiving him, the king placed upon this man a weighty responsibility, a responsibility even greater than the burden of his debt. Indeed, this servant now owed his master more than ever. How? He was responsible to forgive and love others, just as the king had done for him.” —David Wilkerson

If you don’t think Planned Parenthood’s business of abortion is a huge money-maker for them, why are they spending $20 million in 2016 to elect pro-abortion candidates?

For Detroit Red Wings fan, here is a nice mini-biography of Mr. Hockey: Gordie Howe.

[VIDEO] Barbabas Piper and Bobby Conway on the difference between knowing and believing

6 Quotes From Billy Graham On Faith

BillyGrahamI recently read The Quotable Billy Graham (you can read my book review here), and I was struck by how relevant his words are, even 50 years after they were spoken. Here are a few quotes on faith.

“I wonder if the church has not failed this generation of young people by failing to make the Christian faith the thrilling, joyful, triumphant experience that it really is.”

“You best demonstrate your faith in a bank by putting your money in it. You best show your faith in the doctor by trusting him in times of illness. You best prove your faith in a boat by getting aboard. You best demonstrate your faith in Christ by trusting Him with your life and receiving Him unconditionally as your Savior.”

“One of the differences I have with some theologians is that they try to reduce the whole content of the Christian faith to an intellectual gymnastic exercise. Christianity cannot be reduced to reason alone.”

“We are rich in the things that perish, but poor and the things of the spirit. We are rich in gadgets, but poor in faith. We are rich in goods, but poor in grace. We are rich in know-how, but poor in character. We are rich in words, but poor in deeds.”

“If you are a Christian, there is no excuse for not having daily victory in your life by renouncing sin and by faith letting the Spirit of God have control of your life.”

“Whenever anyone asks me how I can be so certain about who and what God really is, I am reminded of the story of the little boy who was out flying a kite. It was a very fine day for kite flying, the wind was brisk and large billowy clouds were blowing across the sky. The kite went up and up until it was entirely hidden by the clouds.
‘What are you doing?’ a man asked the little boy.
‘I’m flying a kite,’ he replied.
‘Flying a kite, are you?’ the man said. ‘How can you be sure? You can’t see your kite.’
‘No,’ said the boy, ‘I can’t see it, but every little while I feel a tug, so I know for sure that it’s there!’
“Don’t take anyone else’s word for God. Find Him for yourself, and then you too will know by the wonderful, warm tug on your heartstrings that He is there for sure.”

Thursdays With Oswald—My Personal History With Jesus

Oswald ChambersThis is a periodic series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

My Personal History With Jesus

Beware of the people who tell you life is simple. Life is such a mass of complications that no man is safe apart from God. Coming to Jesus does not simplify life, it simplifies my relationship to God.

God’s idea is that individual Christians should become identified with His purpose for the world. When Christianity becomes over-organized and denominational it is incapable of fulfilling our Lord’s commission; it doesn’t “feed His sheep,” it can’t (see John 21:15-17). 

If my religion is not based on a personal history with Jesus it becomes something I suffer from, not a joyous thing, but something that keeps me from doing what I want to do.

From Disciples Indeed

These three quotes from one chapter in this book have a common theme: What makes life a joy is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Doctrine can’t do it. Easy answers won’t work. Religion can’t do it. My church denomination won’t.

Only knowing Jesus intimately, personally—only having a “personal history” with Him will bring me lasting joy! I pray that you can know this joy!

(If you would like to read more quotes from Disciples Indeed, please click here.)

Links & Quotes

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“Scripture is about God, God is love, therefore, if you want to learn the Scriptures, look to learn love.” —T.M. Moore

“It is remarkable that the persons in positions of power who wrote most of Israel’s Wisdom Literature did not present the poor as immoral or second-class, but as neighbors in need of mercy. On the other hand, there is never an indication that the needy are necessarily more pious; after all, poverty was never presented as an ideal of Israelite society (Deuteronomy 15:4).” —Archeological Study Bible

“Where would you have been but for grace? To repeat the old saying of John Bradford, when he saw a cartful of men going off to Tyburn to be hanged, ‘There goes John Bradford but for the grace of God.’ When you see the swearer in the street, or the drunkard rolling home at night, there are you, there am I, but for the grace of God. Who am I? What should I have been if the Lord, in mercy, had not stopped me in my mad career?” —Charles Spurgeon

[VIDEO] I hadn’t thought of it this way before, but John Maxwell says there is a healthy and unhealthy way of being defensive—

4 Reasons Why God’s Way Is Better

Notice the contrasts (see the conjunction “but”) in these wise words from King Solomon—

For the Lord detests a perverse man but takes the upright into His confidence.

The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.

He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.

The wise inherit honor, but fools He holds up to shame. (Proverbs 3:32-35)

Solomon is inviting us to compare God’s way with our way.

God's way or man's way

Looking at this, it’s not too hard to figure out which way is the better way to live! 

Charles Bridges commented on these verses, “The value of our inheritance is beyond all price; its happiness unspeakable; its security unchangeable; its duration eternity. The wise shall inherit glory. ‘They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament for ever and ever’ (Daniel 12:3; Matthew 13:43).”

(To download a PDF version of the chart above, click here → God’s way or man’s way)

Links & Quotes

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“One of the greatest mercies God bestows upon us is His not permitting our inclinations and opportunities to meet. Have you not sometimes noticed that when you had the inclination to a sin there has been no opportunity, and when the opportunity has presented itself you have had no inclination towards it? satan’s principal aim with believers is to bring their appetites and his temptations together….” —Charles Spurgeon

“In a very real sense, we are what we love. … What we treasure in our heart will be what we seek in life and what we become in fact. … What we most love, therefore, tells us something about the condition of our hearts. If the best part of our spiritual and physical energies are invested in making a good living—if being materially well-off is the treasure we seek—then this will be evidence of a heart which believes it can only be satisfied by the enjoyment of things and the realization of every whim.” —T.M. Moore

“Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. It is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. So let us turn our eyes fixed on the precious and very great promises of God. Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight—to live by faith in future grace.” —John Piper

“This third Person is called, in technical language, the Holy Ghost or the ‘spirit’ of God. Do not be worried or surprised if you find it (or Him) rather vaguer or more shadowy in your mind than the other two [Father and Son]. I think there is a reason why that must be so. In the Christian life you are not usually looking at Him: He is always acting through you. If you think of the Father as something ‘out there,’ in front of you, and of the Son as someone standing at your side, helping you to pray, trying to turn you into another son, then you have to think of the third Person as something inside you, or behind you. Perhaps some people might find it easier to begin with the third Person and work backwards. God is love, and that love works through men—especially through the whole community of Christians. But this spirit of love is, from all eternity, a love going on between the Father and Son.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Max Lucado reminds us of the original terrorist.

Lenny Esposito shares 3 problems for atheism.

Good reminders: 5 things married couples should do every day.

[VIDEO] George Will explains campaign finance “reform” in a way I haven’t heard anyone else say it—

 

The Quotable Billy Graham (book review)

BillyGrahamOne man … 452 topics … 1000 quotes. All of this coming from a man who has lived his message with integrity through nine decades. The Quotable Billy Graham is a delight to read!

The thing that most amazed me was the wisdom of this godly man. This book of quotes was compiled nearly 50 years ago, and yet the insight with which Dr. Graham spoke and wrote has stood the test of time. All of these quotes are just as relevant today as they were a half-century ago.

What a remarkable book!

(Obviously I will be sharing several of these quotes with you over the next few weeks.)