“God is not a cruel slave driver or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn’t try to break our will, but woos us to himself so that we might offer ourselves freely to him. God is a lover and a liberator, and surrendering to him brings freedom, not bondage. When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant, but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.”
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Rick Warren
“God was thinking of you long before you ever thought about him.”
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Rick Warren
“If you haven’t been baptized as an expression of your faith in Christ, do so as soon as possible, as Jesus commanded.”
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Rick Warren
“Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s, is really a struggle with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we are going to win that struggle.”
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Rick Warren
“Neither past nor future generations can serve God's purpose in this generation. Only we can.”
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Rick Warren
“What is your view of life? You may be basing your life on a faulty life metaphor. To fulfill the purposes God made you for, you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with the biblical metaphors of life. The Bible says, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God.”
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Rick Warren
“The cliché is true: People don't care what we know until they know we care.”
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Rick Warren
“Don't be envious of the runner in the lane next to you; just focus on finishing your race.”
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Rick Warren
“When God wants to make a mushroom, he does it overnight, but when He wants to make a giant oak, He takes a hundred years. Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering. Be patient with the process.”
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Rick Warren
“Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”
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Rick Warren
“The book of Proverbs warns us over and over again about negative associations. Constant exposure to wrong attitudes and wrong values will eventually take its toll in our lives. It is always easier to pull someone down than it is to lift him up. What kind of friends should you have? The kind who bring out the best in you, who lift you up, who encourage you, who make you a better person.”
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Rick Warren
“Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you. Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.”
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Rick Warren
“May the LORD smile on you…. NUMBERS 6:25 (NLT)”
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Rick Warren