“This self-absorbed perspective treats God as a genie who simply exists to serve you in your selfish pursuit of personal fulfillment. But God is not your servant, and if you fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, either you will become severely disillusioned or you will live in denial of reality. Never forget that life is not about you! You exist for God’s purposes, not vice versa. Why would God provide heaven on earth when he’s planned the real thing for you in eternity? God gives us our time on earth to build and strengthen our character for heaven.
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Rick Warren
“Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God — and if you fail to worship him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice. E. Stanley Jones said, “If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.”
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Rick Warren
“A young man in his twenties wrote, “I feel like a failure because I’m struggling to become something, and I don’t even know what it is. All I know how to do is to get by. Someday, if I discover my purpose, I’ll feel I’m beginning to live.”
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Rick Warren
“Our habits control our lives. We shape our habits; then our habits shape us.”
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Rick Warren
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
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Rick Warren
“Every parent knows that delayed obedience is really disobedience.”
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Rick Warren
“This poem by Russell Kelfer sums it up: You are who you are for a reason. You’re part of an intricate plan. You’re a precious and perfect unique design, Called God’s special woman or man. You look like you look for a reason. Our God made no mistake. He knit you together within the womb, You’re just what he wanted to make. The parents you had were the ones he chose, And no matter how you may feel, They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind, And they bear the Master’s seal. No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so; But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into his likeness you’d grow. You are who you are for a reason, You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod. You are who you are, beloved, Because there is a God!”
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Rick Warren
“God made you for a reason and your life has profound meaning! We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference point of our lives.”
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Rick Warren
“The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change how you act, you must begin by changing the way you think. Your thoughts are the autopilot of your life. Romans 12:2 says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know”
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Rick Warren
“Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence.”
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Rick Warren
“Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature. That’s why we’re given a lifetime to learn it.”
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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
“God specializes in turning weaknesses into strengths. He wants to take your greatest weakness and transform it.”
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Rick Warren
“A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. PROVERBS 11:28”
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Rick Warren
“Receive his Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose.”
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Rick Warren
