“Unfortunately, we forget the cruel details of the agonizing sacrifice God made on our behalf. Familiarity breeds complacency. Even before his crucifixion, the Son of God was stripped naked, beaten until almost unrecognizable, whipped, scorned and mocked, crowned with thorns, and spit on contemptuously.
Abused and ridiculed by heartless men, he was treated worse than an animal.
Then, nearly unconscious fromblood loss, he was forced to drag a cumbersome cross up a hill, was nailed to it, and was left to die the slow, excruciating torture of death by crucifixion. While his lifeblood drained out, hecklers stood by and shouted insults, making fun of his pain and challenging his claim to be God.”
―
Rick Warren
“The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.”
―
Rick Warren
“La Palabra de Dios nos ordena vivir «hablando la verdad con amor»3, porque no podemos formar una comunidad sin franqueza. Salomón dijo: «Una respuesta sincera es el signo de una verdadera amistad».4 A veces esto implica preocuparnos lo suficiente por quien peca o está siendo tentado como para enfrentarlo afablemente. Pablo dijo: «Hermanos, si ven que alguien ha caído en algún pecado, ustedes que son espirituales deben ayudarlo a corregirse. Pero háganlo amablemente; y que cada cual tenga mucho cuidado, no suceda que él también sea puesto a prueba».
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Rick Warren
“Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past. Listen: those who hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past is past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it, and then let it go.”
―
Rick Warren
“يشعر الكثيرون أن الله كامن في مكان سري يتصيد لهم الأخطاء. وأنهم حالما يخطئون فإن سعادته تكتمل وهو يصرخ لهم بزهو: "ها قد أوقعت بك".وأنه منتظر ليسقطوا فيقول لهم:"ألم أقل لك". إنهم ينظرون إلي الله وكأنه الكائن الكوني الذي يتصف بالسادية والنكد. والذي يستمتع بأن يفشل خططنا. ودائماً ما يجد الطرق التي ينتقدنا بها، ويوجه بها الاتهامات لنا.وينتقم منا.
ولكن الله نفسه يقول: "لأني عرفت الأفكار التي أنا مفتكر بها عنكم، يقول الرب، أفكار سلام لا شر، لأعطيكم آخرة ورجاء."
(إرميا 29:11)
لا يوجد من يريد الأفضل والأصلح لك أكثر من الله. لا أحد يعلم ما هو الأفضل لك. وليس هناك من يجعلك تتمتع بالسعادة الحقيقية أكثر منه. الله لا يريدك أن تخاف منه.إنه يريدك أن تسرع إليه، لا أن تهرب منه.
في الواقع يذكر لنا الكتاب المقدس 365 مرة أن الله يقول :"لا تخف". واحدة لكل يوم من أيام السنة. فما الذي تخاف منه؟ لا أحد منا يعرف ما الذي سيواجهه خلال العام. لكن يمكننا أن نعرف أن الله يحبنا، وأن الله معنا، وأن الله لنا (أي في صفنا) . إن الواحد منا مضافاً إلي الله يصبح اغلبية في موقف.
فمن أين إذن ينبع خوفنا من الله؟ هناك مصدران أساسيان ضمير مذنب، وجهل بطبيعة الله. يقول الكتاب المقدس :
" لا خوف في المحبة، بل المحبة الكاملة تطرح الخوف إلى خارج لأن الخوف له عذاب. وأما من خاف فلم يتكمل في المحبة"
(يوحنا الأولي4:18)
الذنب يجعلنا نشعر بعدم الأمان.”
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Rick Warren
“We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. When faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, more beautiful, and wealthier. We want to have it all and do it all, and we become upset when it doesn’t happen. Then when we notice that God gave others characteristics we don’t have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity.”
―
Rick Warren
“That is why the key to long-lasting success is to develop habits — new, positive habits that replace our self-defeating behaviors.”
―
Rick Warren
“The most damaging aspect of contemporary living is short-term thinking.”
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Rick Warren
“Passion drives perfection. The highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit.”
―
Rick Warren
“God was thinking of you even before he made the world. In fact, that’s why he created it! God designed this planet’s environment just so we could live in it. We are the focus of his love and the most valuable of all his creation.”
―
Rick Warren
“This is the paradox: victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn’t weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrendered to God, you don’t have to fear or surrender to anything else.”
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Rick Warren
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”
―
Rick Warren
“Living to create an earthly legacy is a short-sighted goal.”
―
Rick Warren
“YOU ARE NOT AN ACCIDENT. Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.”
―
Rick Warren
“Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover that the greatest hindrance to God’s blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself — your self-will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.”
―
Rick Warren
