Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 183). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. He already gave the ultimate gift for us even before we were born, ever before we knew we needed it.   He showed He loved us by giving His Son for us on the Cross.   So why would He do that for us? Andy says, “God desires that your life be a masterpiece that reflects His greatness and your uniqueness. But to create a masterpiece with our lives, we must submit ourselves to the hand of the Master. We must allow Him to influence each stroke on the canvas of our lives.” Now the problem in all of this is, we believe that we can make the masterpiece and we don’t need any help.   And many of us are doing a pretty good job and that is also the problem. One of the principles of Church Planting and I was a Church Planter, was that the people who were the most open to going to a new church were those who were going through some transit

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 165). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. And then he follows that with, “The fool is the person who convinces himself that he knows more than he really knows and doesn’t need to ask anybody anything. At the end of the day, the wise man breaths a sigh of relief; the fool, a sigh of regret.” And that is so easy to do in making decisions because it is built into us that we need to believe in ourselves.   Have confidence but it is also very important to have humility.   And humility means we have a true assessment of our abilities and we understand our limitations and our need to ask for help when we know we need it.   But pride gets in the way of humility doesn’t it?   So we tread in places where we convince ourselves that we know more than we really know and we don’t need anybody’s help.   That is where the sleepless, restless nights come in. But we are afraid to ask bec

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 159). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) My dad was a very wise man and he used to say a lot of short phrases that have stayed with me over the years.   One phrase was “Advice not asked for stinks.”   And I have followed that thought throughout my life.   I knew that if I gave it without something asking for it they wouldn’t follow it so why give it. I have people ask me to call someone and tell them what they need to hear and I always say, “No”.   I f they call then I would talk to them but the person had to ask. And James in the New Testatment understood God’s thought on this where in James 1:5 (CEB) he says, “But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought…”   The key here is, you have to ask.   He gives it without a second thought but you need to

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 108). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Andy continues, “If issues related to sexual impurity—adultery, the shrapnel associated with adultery, addiction to pornography, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, the psychological effects associated with abortion, sexual abuse, incest, rape, and all sexual addictions— were to suddenly disappear from society, imagine the resources we would have available to apply to the handful of issues that would remain.” But there is more to it than that.   Maybe one of these has hit you somewhere and you understand the great pain and deep regret that comes from the misuse of our sexuality.   And there is deep pain that comes even to the innocent with this misuse. It is something that we all need to come to grips with and do all we can to keep from it happening in ou

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 80). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. We will miss those irretrievable opportunities that matter most.   Now that hits at the heart of one who wants to maximize my time.   Time cannot be retrieved.   You may lose all your money and you can make more but when you lose time you have lost it. Andy says right before this thought, “If you aren’t on your guard, the culture will draw you into a lifestyle where your time is frivolously consumed rather than strategically invested.”   And then right after he says, “If you are not walking wisely, your time will be fragmented by a thousand urgent, disconnected opportunities and events. Such opportunities and events will seem important at the time, but when strung together they have no cumulative value.   But if you are willing to harness your time and appropriate it strategically, things can be different. You will be healthier phy

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 33). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Now we all want so many different handles that we can use to become better at what we do and to live a happy fulfilling life.   Now in that happening there will be many difference decisions that need to be made.   Those decisions will affect our here and now and they will affect many different people and they will affect our future.   And this thought is more than a handle it needs to become a way of life.   In looking at every decision that we are to make Andy says that we are to make it based on The Best Question Ever . Andy says, “Like a good father, God wants what’s best for each of us. So He has given us a standard that goes beyond the cultural norms. He has given us a question that enables us to live out the values that lead to what Jesus referred to as an abundant life

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 20). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. I have always had a problem with my weight.   The last three to four months I have seen it slowly go back up to where I didn’t want it to go.   In the last few years I had lost around 50 lbs. but little by little I was gaining it back.   Poor planning was taking me where I didn’t want to go.   So I set up a plan to do something and I have been seeing good results.   But I had to have a plan and to stick to it. Andy says, “Having watched dozens of people methodically waste their lives, potential, and money, I’ve concluded that while nobody plans to mess up his life, the problem is that few of us plan not to. That is, we don’t put the necessary safeguards in place to ensure a happy ending.” I have found that not eating anything that has wheat in it makes a big difference for me.   I would do a good job of diet and walking during th

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (Kindle Locations 120-121). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition . I found out earlier this week that I made a decision five years ago that is affecting me right now.   I t was something I let someone else do for me and it is affecting me today and I have a decision to make today.   One do I play the blame game and throw them under the bus or do I do nothing or do I accept responsibility for the problem and do today what I should have done back then? It is so much easier to play the blame game and feel so sorry for yourself than it is to take responsibility isn’t it?   It was my fault.   I should have thought the situation through and made sure that they knew everything so they could do their job.   I blew it not them.   I assumed they knew more than they did. Now another decision I made was more far reaching.   It is still affecting us today.   I stuck my head in the sand un