CHOOSE FOR YOURSELVES

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:15 NIV)

It is amazing, the lengths God will go to get our attention. God will touch. He will tug. He will whisper and shout. He will take away our burdens. He'll even take away our blessings. If there are a thousand steps between us and Him, He will take all but one. But He will leave the final one for us. The choice is ours. 

-- Max Lucado in “A Gentle Thunder” 

#5642

GIANT STEPS IN SMALL GROUPS

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  (Hebrews 10:23-25 RSV)

When people are in small groups where someone knows them -- where they can ask the threatening, embarrassing, naïve questions, and share where they are -- then they can take giant steps in their faith. That just doesn't happen in a church service of 200 or 500 people.

-- Howard Hendricks

#4668

STEP BY STEP

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”   (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV)

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Grab some paper and write down a couple of things you have been reluctant to get started on. Your hesitance may be due to a lack of faith in your ability to complete the entire staircase, or to even be able to see all of it. Think about all the different roles and aspects of your life, including work, relationships, family, health, spiritual life, etc.

Next to each item on your list, write down what the first step is. How difficult was that? As long as you know where the staircase will take you, and where the first step is, it shouldn’t be too difficult, if you have faith and persevere. 

-- Author unknown, adapted from philosiblog.com


#4523

ALWAYS A NEXT STEP

Jesus once said that with God, all things are possible, and the great thing about life with God is that your next step is always possible.  That step toward God is always waiting, no matter what you have done or how you have messed up your life.  Jesus was hanging on a cross with a thief hanging next to Him, and Jesus turned to him and said, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

There is always a next step.

-- John Ortberg in The Me I Want To Be

#3826

STEPPING OUT IN FAITH

I don't know about you, but I want God to reveal the second step before I take the first step in faith. But I've discovered that if I don't take the first step, God generally won't reveal the next step. We've got to be obedient to the measure of revelation God has given us if we want more of it. And that's why we get stuck spiritually. We want more revelation before we obey more, but God wants more obedience before He reveals more.

Most of us will only follow Christ to the point of precedence -- the place where we have been before. But no further. We're afraid of doing what we've never done because it's unfamiliar territory. So we leave unclaimed the new gifts, new annointings, and new dreams that God wants to give us.

If you want to do something new, you cannot keep doing what you've always done. You've got to push past the fear of the unknown. You've got to do something different.

-- Mark Batterson in All In

#3720

DOORWAY PEOPLE

Many Christians can name one or two people who were critical to their entry into the faith community.  Perhaps a pastor, a relative, a neighbor, or a coworker offered the first invitation, provided encouragement, or welcomed them.  Even in larger congregations, an unusually high proportion of newcomers have been influenced by a small handful of people.  These "doorway people" have a natural way of gently helping people along on the critical first steps toward faith.  Who are the "doorway people" for your own faith journey?  For whom are you a doorway person?

-- Robert Schnase in Five Practices of Fruitful Living


#3519

ALWAYS A FIRST STEP

No matter what the ruin of any life may be there is always a place to start. There is a place where you must begin. You need to apologize to someone. You need to go to somebody and straighten something out. You need to stop some practice that is wrong. You need to open yourself up to counsel. You need to seek advice. You need to get some guidance. There is always a first step. That is where you must begin.

And whatever you pray, pray that God will give you the grace, the strength and the determination to take that step. Then, the process of recovery has begun.

-- Ray C. Stedman


#3350