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Someone has said, "Education is going from an unconscious to conscious awareness of one's ignorance." I agree."
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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We see the same scenario all too often today. People are told the good news of salvation by grace alone, only to respond with, "That's too simple. Where's the dignity? Where's the effort? If it's all that life changing, surely something sacrificial is required of me!"
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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success in the kingdom of God and in any local church depends upon the faithful people of whom the general public is unaware.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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When we worship something, we are affirming its value to us. We do that with our actions as well as with our hearts. A
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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when he has to risk everything on his leap, and in the spiritual domain Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold by common sense and leap into what He says. . . . Trust entirely in God, and when He brings you to the venture, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis, only one out of a crowd is daring enough to bank his faith in the character of God.2
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Third, God the Spirit will show us how to live and die as we learn how to release whatever has us in its grip. (That last phrase wasn't a mistake.) As long as we're owned by whatever we're clutching, we'll never be given over completely to the Holy Spirit. This would be an excellent moment for you to do some self-analysis. To what, to whom are you clinging? Let it go. Let them go.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Without our realizing it, we were trained to think that the most significant people are star athletes, actors, and musicians--the ones we applaud, those whose autographs others seek. They aren't. Not really. Most often, the people worth noting are the individuals who turn a "nobody" into a "somebody" but never receive credit."
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time; and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn. He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand w..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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But even meaner than Abishai was Benaiah. This is a guy you want on your side in a street fight: Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day. He killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature five cubits tall. Now in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam, but he went down to him with a ..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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As we shall see, the best leaders are actually servants. Unselfishly,
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Philosophers are people who talk about something they don't understand and make you think it's your fault!1
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Too many churches have become entertainment halls where star speakers strut and swagger for their fans. For too many houses of worship, the platform has become a performance stage for musicians--and I mean that in the most ignoble sense. Even when they shout and sing the name of Jesus Christ, somehow the focus of attention is upon them and public praise stays with them.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Church is a gathering of nobodies to worship the only real Somebody: Christ, our Head. The King of creation, raised from the dead, seated with the Father, Commander of heaven, exercising complete authority over all time and space, perfect in His justice, infinite in His mercy, holy in His perfection, the only perfect Somebody who died for nobodies like you and me.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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God not only moves in mysterious ways, He moves in mundane days.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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This points us to an undeniable theological truth we learn from Genesis 4: humans are murderers, not because we commit murder, but because we are murderers at heart.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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the word murderer, let me put it another way. We are not sinners because we have committed sins. We sin because we are sinners. The
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Mark it down in permanent ink: God is always at work.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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It was Sir Winston Churchill, in the midst of Nazi bombings, who said to the people of London, "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."' He was the one who offered the best definition of success I've ever read: "Success is moving from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." --
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City during the 1930s, used to say, "I don't fail often. But when I do, it's a beaut!"
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. (Heb. 13:7-9)
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Moses, you see, had walked with God long enough to know that even though the Lord's directions might seem foolish, he wasn't to question them. And
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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grace strengthens us. It strengthens our hearts, awakens in us the courage to stand firm.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Al menos dicha verdad inspirara una vida piadosa cuando usted comprenda que usted es, en efecto, la unica Biblia que leen muchos al ponerse en contacto con usted. Usted escribira el Evangelio de Juan, capitulo 16, manana por la manana en su lugar de trabajo. Lo terminara manana por la tarde, y escribira el capitulo diecisiete el dia siguiente por la manana. Usted escribe un evangelio y el mundo lo lee. Ellos descubriran que es verdad o fals..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Then there are principles . . . and these are general guidelines that require discernment and maturity if we are to grasp them. . . . Like the sign that says, "Drive carefully." This may mean forty miles an hour on a clear, uncongested highway, or it may mean ten miles an hour on an ice-covered curve. But it always means that we must be alert and aware of conditions; it always means we have to be discerning. . . . These principles require w..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Biblical wisdom is a process that begins with gaining knowledge, then choosing to set aside our former ways of thinking, and then putting this new knowledge into practice.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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I have never lost respect for any individual who replied to a question with the answer, "I just don't know."
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Power to Overcome Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge. PROVERBS 23:12 Can't and won't. Christians need to be very careful which one they choose. It seems that we prefer to use "can't." "I just can't get along with my wife." "My husband and I can't communicate." "I just can't discipline the kids as I should." "I just can't give up the affair I'm having." "I can't stop overeating." "I can't find time to pray." A..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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When God's in it ... it flows. When the flesh is in it ... it's forced.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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God's voice isn't all that difficult to hear. In fact, you almost have to be closing your eyes and stopping your ears to miss it.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Life's a tough proposition, and the first hundred years are the hardest. --WILSON MIZNER L
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Isn't it remarkable what God can do without our help? Sometimes we think, My company needs me. My church needs me. My family needs me. Hey, God must need me, too. No, He doesn't. He can manage quite well without us, remarkable though it may seem. In fact, He prefers us to step aside and leave the striving to Him.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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When you are in the center of God's will, my friend, it flows.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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God's New Morning Message The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. PSALM 146:8 Do you know what God's fresh, new morning message is to us? Whether the sun is shining brightly or whether it's pouring down rain? Whether the morning is bright or whether it's gray and overcast? His promise is the dawn itself. . . . Every morning the Lord comes through with His encouraging message, "We're still on speaking terms..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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This should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks that God will accept anything we choose to bring as long as we're sincere.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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That is the way God works. Without even a hint of warning, He speaks to ordinary people, on ordinary days.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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El seguir a Cristo implica que debemos creer que Dios es quien dice ser y que hara lo que manifiesta que hara.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Hold everything loosely.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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David was faithful in the first and the third; but being a man of passion, he failed in the second. And even though his wives and concubines increased, his passion was not abated. This king who took another man's wife already had a harem full of women. The simple fact is that the passion of sex is not satisfied by a full harem of women; it is increased. Having many women does not reduce a man's libido, it excites it . . . it stimulates it. ..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Principle four: There are consequences we experience, we could not anticipate, but they are necessary. I don't know where you find yourself today, but I would be willing to wager that most of you reading this book are going through something that is unfair. Chances are good that you simply don't deserve what's happening. The consequences may have started to get to you. You didn't anticipate any of this. You didn't think it would come to thi..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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But if you like shallow lyrics and easy-to-hum-along-with ditties, then you're not going to enjoy the Psalms. The Psalms are for folks who have decided that music is an art that requires the discipline of keen thinking and a heart that is right before God. It is music for the mature. It is not a superficial statement. There are a few, of course, that are very popular: Psalms 1, 23, 91, 100, and parts of 119. But for the most part, only the
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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A Rare Commodity A man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor. PROVERBS 29:23 Humility isn't a show we put on; in fact, if we think we're humble, we're probably not. And in our day of self-promotion, self-assertion, spotlighting "celebrities of the faith," and magnifying the flesh, this quality--so greatly valued by the Lord Jesus--is a rare commodity indeed. . . . A truly humble person looks for opportunities to ..
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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The silence of God's voice will make you wonder if He is even there. And the absence of God's presence will make you wonder if He even cares. He is. And He does.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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Sometime in my ministry, I am going to gather up enough courage to have a testimony time where the only thing we'll share is our failures.
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Charles R. Swindoll |
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4. To
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Charles R. Swindoll |