Gold Nuggets

[blyempowered]

"The absolute holiness of God should be of great comfort and assurance to us. If God is perfectly holy, then we can be confident that His actions towards us are always perfect and just. We are often tempted to question God's actions and complain that He is unfair in His treatment of us. This is the devil's lie, the same thing he did to Eve. He essentially told her, 'God is being unfair to you' (Genesis 3:4-5). But it is impossible in the very nature of God that He should ever be unfair. Because He is holy, all His actions are holy."

"When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at our salvation, He comes to make us holy in practice. If there is not, then, at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy life pleasing to God, we need to seriously question whether our faith in Christ is genuine."

"In all of our thoughts, all of our actions, in every part of our character, the ruling principle that motivates and guides us should be the desire to follow Christ in doing the will of the Father. This is the high road we must follow in the pursuit of holiness."

"As we grow in the Christian life we face increasing danger of spiritual pride. We know the correct doctrines, the right methods and the proper do's and don'ts. But we may not see the poverty of our own spiritual character. We may not see our critical and unforgiving spirit, our habit of backbiting or our tendency to judge others."


"The Pursuit of Holiness" by Jerry Bridges

[musicbishop]

The story of the criminal who was crucified with Jesus is the ultimate story of Grace.

In those times many criminals were taken to be Roman Warship rowers.  Only the worst of the worst, those deemed to violent and/or unpredictable, were crucified.  Clearly this man had done something terrible (and he admitted that he deserved his punishment).

We all know the story well.  In his final hours he confessed Christ and received salvation.

Stephen lived a Godly life and was stoned to death as a martyr.  Paul turned his life around and did more to advance the first century church than anybody and also died a martyr.  This criminal lived a life of sin and was crucified for his horrible crimes.  Yet they all get the same eternal reward.

Doesn't seem fair does it?

This man made it in by the skin of his teeth.  What did he have to offer?  He couldn't atone for his sins.  There were no promises to be made (and subsequently kept or broken).  There was no gift he could give.  What does rededication mean when you only have hours to live?  It's like a child breaking a rule and then pleading for forgiveness when his father takes off his belt, or a criminal in a courtroom asking for mercy when he has already been convicted of the murder he committed.

He had no leverage, no good deeds to offer as evidence of his worthiness, and no argument for why he should get into heaven.

What he received was Grace.

See, grace is never about us.  It isn't about making promises to do better.  It's about God's goodness and his lovingkindness.  His mercy.

So to answer my earlier question, NO.  It isn't fair.  Thank God Grace isn't fair! 

If I look back at all the stupid sins I've committed, the promises to God I made and then broke, the times I did wrong when I KNEW what right was, why would I want 'fair'?  Fair is me getting what I deserve.  I don't want fair. 

I want Grace!




Gleaned from: The Grace of God by Andy Stanley

If I've never felt God move through anything said on LGM I surely felt him through this. This is very powerful!!! Literally just about in tears before I could get half way through reading. This is a Golden Nugget indeed. I've got to print and share this with someone!!!

[blyempowered]

"People can usually trace their successes and failures to the relationships in their lives."

"Who you are determines the way you see everything. You cannot separate your identity from your perspective. All that you are and every experience you've had color how you see things."

"The difference between who you are today and who you will be in five years will be the people you spend time with and the books you read."

"People who often experience relational differences are tempted to look at everyone but themselves to explain the problem. But we must always begin by examining ourselves and being willing to change whatever deficiencies we have."

"People often respond to our attitudes and actions more than to our words. Many petty conflicts occur because people use the wrong tone of voice."

"The way you treat people will stay with them a lot longer than the words you choose. Act accordingly."



"Winning with people: Disover the People Principles that work for you everytime" by John Maxwell

[Arkhams Finest]

"People can usually trace their successes and failures to the relationships in their lives."

"Who you are determines the way you see everything. You cannot separate your identity from your perspective. All that you are and every experience you've had color how you see things."

"The difference between who you are today and who you will be in five years will be the people you spend time with and the books you read."

"People who often experience relational differences are tempted to look at everyone but themselves to explain the problem. But we must always begin by examining ourselves and being willing to change whatever deficiencies we have."

"People often respond to our attitudes and actions more than to our words. Many petty conflicts occur because people use the wrong tone of voice."

"The way you treat people will stay with them a lot longer than the words you choose. Act accordingly."



"Winning with people: Disover the People Principles that work for you everytime" by John Maxwell

I like that. 

[Arkhams Finest]

"History is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging."


"A book can be as dangerous as a sword in the right hands."


"Do you take me for a Butcher?"
"Better the butcher than the meat."


Game of Thrones Books 4 & 5.

[blyempowered]

I like that. 

Man, that book has really confirmed some things for me and made me look closely at the mirror...whew!

[SirTJ]

"A book can be as dangerous as a sword in the right hands."

YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

[Arkhams Finest]

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.  The man who never reads lives only one."

"Power tastes best when sweetened by courtesy."

"I am the sword in the darkness.  I am the watcher on the walls.  I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men."

Game of Thrones Book Five

[SirTJ]

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.  The man who never reads lives only one."

OH YESSSSSSS!!!!

[Arkhams Finest]

"...the mind is mainly the servant of the heart.  That is, the mind serves to know the truth that fuels the fires of the heart.  The apex of glorifying God is enjoying Him with the heart.  But this is an empty emotionalism where that joy is not awakened and sustained by true views of God for who He really is.  That is mainly what the mind is for."

-Think: The life of the mind and the love of God

[Arkhams Finest]

"If we don't choose to think harder we will settle for an adolescent level of understanding the rest of our lives."


-Think: The life of the mind and the love of God

[Arkhams Finest]

"The most insidious thing about bondage is how easy it is to grow accustomed to it."

A Game of Thrones Book 5 (A Dance with Dragons)

[SirTJ]

I just started the book last night, but here are a few gold nuggets so far:

"If you add to or subtract from the cross, even if it is to factor in biblically mandated religious practices like prayer and evangelism, you rob God of his glory and Christ of his sufficiency. Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for us, not because of all the great stuff we've done but because Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death. My sin in the past: forgiven. My current struggles: covered. My future failures: paid in full all by the marvelous, infinite, matchless grace found in the atoning work of the cross of Jesus Christ."

"There is nothing confining God. His creativity is transcendent because his very being is transcendent. Everything that is is his, and he can make more of anything he wants out of nothing at all. There is no human category for this kind of richness. It makes Bill Gates a pauper, Rockefeller a beggar, and one of those island-owning sheiks in the Middle East a hobo. I don't know what it makes you and me, but it certainly moves us into the perspective of awe that God deserves. Now we get a glimpse of what would move Paul to sing from his soul, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!"

"Romans 11:33 tells us instead that God is incomprehensibly immense, exceedingly expansive, and eternally powerful, and so much so that time and time again our response to many of the things of God ought to be "I don't know." Rather than respond to his incalculable God-ness with our slide rules and flowcharts, we would do better to worship him with reverence and awe. How can God see, know, and do all that he does? I don't know."

He talks about worship and why we must talk about Hell in order to fully embrace the Gospel. VERY good stuff.

[blyempowered]

Wow! Good stuff!

[Arkhams Finest]

His creativity is transcendent because his very being is transcendent.

Mind: Blown

My favorite color is blue.

God CREATED BLUE.  In the beginning there was nothing.  God created COLORS with no point of reference and no context.  He saw colors in his mind's eye and created them.

That absolutely boggles the mind.  I'm shaking my head.  It's seems so simple, but can you imagine a color you've never seen?  Can you picture it in your mind's eye?   

So amazing.

[blyempowered]

From "Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions" by Max Lucado:

The question was: "I've been disappointed so many tiimes by human love. And I think this has given me a faulty view of God's love. Can you help me understand how his love is different from human love?"

"Human love is convenient. It suits the needs of the person at the time and works into his schedule. God's love is eternal. You are always on God's itinerary. Come and go as you wish, but he's always there. Human love is limited. It can love only as much as it wants to give. God's love is unlimited. He has ample amounts of love and even uses words like abundant when talking about pouring out his love on people.

God's love is committed. While God has feelings for us, his feelings don't dictate his love. His love is based on a decision to love us. Your actions don't increase or decrease his commitment. His love is a deeper and more secure love than the flucturating Ferris wheel of feeling. Human love is selfish. It must suit our needs and be there for us. To love, we must be loved. God's love is unselfish. In fact if you never love God, he will still love you. Your love has no bearing on the amount of love he lavishes on you.

Our goal as Christians should be to express God's love in our human relationships so people will never make the statement you made (question at the top).We should all have someone in our lives on whom we can look back and say, 'I saw God's love in that person.'"

Hope this encourages someone.

[blyempowered]

Here are a few quotes from chapter 1 of "Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World" by Craig Groeschel:

"As we see ourselves through the lens of our experiences, beliefs, and perspectives, we all have our blind spots. As the Bible describes the problem, 'The heart is deceitful above all things' (Jeremiah 17:9). No matter how objective we hope to be, our viewpoint is always to some--sometimes large--degree. Here's the challenge. The longer we view ourselves through a distorted lens, the more likely we are to believe a distorted truth. The longer we lie to ourselves, deceive ourselves, or remain in denial about the truth, the more likely we are to base our decisions and actions on this false belief system."

"Those who are the most defensive are often the most unknowingly guilty. It's been said that the more convinced you are that you're right, the more likely you are wrong. If you fight back against those trying to help you, chances are you are fighting to keep your own lies intact. If someone who loves you tries to show you a dangerous pattern in your life, you might be 100 percent convinced they are wrong when the truth is they are 100 percent correct."

"Please listen to what your loved ones have been trying to tell you. If more than one person has told you that you have a problem with something, chances are pretty good you have a problem."
 

[Arkhams Finest]

Here are a few quotes from chapter 1 of "Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World" by Craig Groeschel:

"As we see ourselves through the lens of our experiences, beliefs, and perspectives, we all have our blind spots. As the Bible describes the problem, 'The heart is deceitful above all things' (Jeremiah 17:9). No matter how objective we hope to be, our viewpoint is always to some--sometimes large--degree. Here's the challenge. The longer we view ourselves through a distorted lens, the more likely we are to believe a distorted truth. The longer we lie to ourselves, deceive ourselves, or remain in denial about the truth, the more likely we are to base our decisions and actions on this false belief system."

First of all, I love this entire quote.  Second, the highlighted sentence seems to be incomplete.  As if there were a few words after the word 'degree' that you left out perhaps?

[Arkhams Finest]

How to win friends and influence people:

"John D Rockefeller said that 'the ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee.  And I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun."

"few of the criminals in Sing Sing regard themselves as bad men.  They are just as human as you and I.  So they rationalize.  They explain.  They can tell you why they HAD to crack a safe or be quick on the trigger finger.  Most of them attempt by a form of reasoning, fallacious or logical, to justify their antisocial acts even to themselves, consequently stoutly maintaining that they should never have been imprisoned at all.......I personally had to blunder through this old world for a third of a century before it even began to dawn upon me that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, people don't criticize themselves for anything, no matter how wrong it may be.  Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself.  Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person's precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses resentment."

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain-and most fools do.  But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.  Carlyle said: 'A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men'. "

"Instead of condemning people, let's try to understand them.  Let's try to figure out why they do what they do.  That's a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness.  To know all is to forgive all."

"There is nothing else that so kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms from superiors...So I am anxious to praise but loathe to find fault."

"Charles Schwab said: 'In my wide association in life, meeting with many and great people in various parts of the world, I have yet to find the person, however great or exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than he would ever do under a spirit of criticism."

"Don't be afraid of enemies who attack you.  Be afraid of the friends who flatter you."

"Emerson said: 'Every man I meet is my superior in some way.  In that, I learn of him."



There are sooooo many more highlights I made on my Kindle.  Very good book.

[blyempowered]

First of all, I love this entire quote.  Second, the highlighted sentence seems to be incomplete.  As if there were a few words after the word 'degree' that you left out perhaps?

That line should say "No matter how objective we hope to be, our viewpoint is always distorted to some--sometimes large--degree."