Tag: Jesus

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Chasing Daylight Chapter 5 Thoughts (Part 2)

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Here are some of the things that stood out to me from Chapter 5 of Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus:

  • The journey that travels through divine moments is not an escape route from personal suffering. In fact, it strengthens our resolve to suffer in the now for the greater good that can be accomplished. It is a recognition that future moments are both born out of and connected to present choices.
  • If it is difficult to fail without risk, it is even more difficult to succeed without failure.
  • You do yourself a disservice when every story has a happy ending in this life. Its far more important that there be a meaningful middle. So often we’re paralyzed in our fear to do the wrong thing, and it is important to always move forward with all the wisdom possible.
  • It is as if we long to know God’s Will, but God refuses to reveal it.
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Chasing Daylight Chapter 5 Thoughts (Part1)

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Here’s what stood out to me from Chapter 5 of Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus…

  • Divine moments require us to move from the invisible to the visible so that the invisible can become visible.
  • Its about volunteering when God is asking, “Who will go on my behalf?”
  • It is so much easier to choose to be invisible. Oh, there are other words for ‘invisible’ – average, mediocre, normal, compliant, predictable, safe – and the list could go on and on.
  • The most important decisions of our lives will require us to forsake invisibility and risk becoming visible. Whenever you choose to seize divine moments, you move from invisibility to visibility.
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Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — It seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field — coming to rest right next to a sign reading, “Jesus is Lord.” [Read Entire Article]

When is the last time God answered a prayer for you, and it was as obvious as Him putting a sign right in front of your face? Share…

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A Moment Like This

Have you ever experienced one of those moments where you knew from that point on your life would be changed forever? Sometimes the realization comes hours maybe days later after the moment has passed, but then there are those times that in the present moment, it hits you!

One of my moments came when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Sure, its been several years since the hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast, but it was in that moment I saw things differently, and it affects me even today, it changed me then and the change has never subsided. I am sure the same would be said by those who survived the events of that summer and by those who spent months recovering bodies and doing the best they could to restore communities and cities and homes.

It was a Wednesday night that 6 of us embarked on a journey that transformed my life and the way I look at the blessings of God and the power that He possesses. I got to the office and was glued to the internet checking out the devastation that had wiped out much of the area. All of the staff pastors, two teenage guys, and another leader in our church decided to do something, so we rallied water and a few groceries and headed out after our midweek service, our plans were to make the 12+ hour trip throughout the night, hand out supplies and drive immediately back. Our destination was Biloxi, Mississippi. We didn’t get too far down the road and we experienced some significant problems with the RV, but we were not deterred from our goal. Fortunately we loaded up on gasoline at the last station that had it within driving distance, a couple hundred miles, we also carried numerous 5 gallon gas cans for backup. When we got to Biloxi, we were some of the first relief efforts in the area. The National Guard was there, but they were mostly scoping things out. All we had was a RV loaded with some groceries pulling a trailer full of bottled water. What was to take place was AMAZING! Continue reading “A Moment Like This”

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Chasing Daylight Chapter 4 Thoughts (Part 1)

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Here are the first quotes that have stood out to me so far from Chapter 4 of Chasing Daylight from Erwin McManus. The chapter is titles “Influence.”

  • Manipulation is the use of influence to control others for personal gain. It is the dark side of influence. Manipulation could be described as a relational lie. It is not merely deception in language, but the corruption of trust.
  • While manipulation is inherently evil, influence is the best way to lead and move others toward what is good.
  • A life touched by God always ends in touching others.
  • We have lost confidence in the power of influence, and because of that, we have lost the beauty of its art. The problem with potential power is that while it may control the actions of another human being, it does not capture the heart.

Just being straight up…this chapter has stood out to me so far because I have been in a church environment where the pastor was a master manipulator. I have seen where his manipulation has severely wounded and damaged people, some to the point of no return. I see a pattern in scripture where God was disgusted and angered by the priest in the Old Testament and the Pharisees and Sadducees in the New Testament because they led people away from the love of God versus towards it. Jesus said in Matthew 23 that the Pharisees would travel land and sea to make one convert, only to turn them into twice the sons of hell as they were.

I saw this pastor use his influence to manipulate the sale of a church and its property that people invested years of their life and in some cases “hundreds” of thousands of dollars to see a deceptive vision come to pass. All for nothing, there was no reason for anything that took place. I’ve forgiven this man, but it does not diminish the damage and the hurt caused by the power of manipulation. Erwin is correct…it is the “Dark Side” of influence. My only prayer is that God extends the same amount of mercy and grace in my life as I need it as he has this man. My true prayer is that I live for God in such a way that I never need that much.

Nicki and I were talking the other day about men who have used their influence in the same manner. I told Nicki that if I had as much influence as these people had, I would truly use it to change the world, not to meet a personal agenda. That is my honest desire. I believe the key is when Erwin said, “A life touched by God always ends in touching others!” What do you want to use your influence to do?