“La obediencia libera el poder de Dios. Dios espera que actúes primero. No esperes hasta que te sientas poderoso o seguro. Sigue adelante pese a tu debilidad, haciendo lo correcto a pesar de tus temores y sentimientos. Así es como cooperas con el Espíritu Santo, y es como se desarrolla tu carácter. La Biblia compara el crecimiento espiritual con una semilla, un edificio o un niño en crecimiento. Cada metáfora requiere una participación activa: las semillas deben ser plantadas y cultivadas, los edificios deben ser construidos —no surgen de la nada— y los niños deben comer y hacer ejercicio para crecer. Aunque el esfuerzo no tiene nada que ver con nuestra salvación, tiene mucho que ver con nuestro crecimiento espiritual. Por lo menos ocho veces en el Nuevo Testamento se nos dice que «hagamos todo esfuerzo»17 en nuestro crecimiento para llegar a ser como Jesús. Uno no se sienta simplemente a esperar que suceda.”
―
Rick Warren
“The apostle Paul said, “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).”
―
Rick Warren
“Nothing matters more than knowing God’s purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them — not success, wealth, fame, or pleasure. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless.”
―
Rick Warren
“Surrendered people obey God’s word, even if it doesn’t make sense.”
―
Rick Warren
“Jesus honored God by fulfilling his purpose on earth. We honor God the same way. When anything in creation fulfills its purpose, it brings glory to God.”
―
Rick Warren
“Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.”
―
Rick Warren
“Behold at thy feet, O Mother of Perpetual Help, O Mother of mercy, my refuge and my hope.”
―
Rick Warren
“Proverbs tells us, “The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.”12 Those who pass along insights get more from God.”
―
Rick Warren
“The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.”
―
Rick Warren
“Frankness is not a license to say anything you want, wherever and whenever you want. It is not rudeness.”
―
Rick Warren
“The most difficult area to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.” Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money”14 and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also.”
―
Rick Warren
“This is what God wants most from you: a relationship!”
―
Rick Warren
“the two biggest hindrances to living the life God designed you to live: Wanting to be like others (envy), and wanting to be liked by others (people-pleasing.) These traps are subtle, but they distract and detour millions of people from the purposes they were created to fulfill.”
―
Rick Warren
“Only secure people can serve. Insecure people are always worrying about how they appear to others. They fear exposure of their weaknesses and hide beneath layers of protective pride and pretensions. The more insecure you are, the more you will want people to serve you, and the more you will need their approval.”
―
Rick Warren
“The fact is, it is selfish for a church to not want to grow. A church that says, “We’ve got enough people, we’ve got a nice fellowship. Our church is just the right size. We just need to focus on the members we already have.” That church is, in reality, actually saying, “The rest of the world can go to hell. We don’t care.”
―
Rick Warren
