“The Scriptures plainly show that this infirmed woman had tried to lift herself. People who stand on the outside can easily criticize and assume that the infirmed woman lacked effort and fortitude. That is not always the case. Some situations in which we can find ourselves defy willpower. We feel unable to change. The Scriptures say that she “could in no way raise herself up.” That implies that she had employed various means of self-help. Isn’t it amazing how the same people who lift up countless others often cannot lift themselves? This type of person may be a tower of faith and prayer for others, but impotent when it comes to his or her own limitations. That person may be the one whom others rely upon.”
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T.D. Jakes
“Just because turtles dwell at your feet doesn’t mean you should come down from your height and barter with, debate, or eat alongside them.”
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T.D. Jakes
“Unforgiveness denies the victim the possibility of parole and leaves them stuck in the prison of what was, incarcerating them in their trauma and relinquishing the chance to escape beyond the pain.”
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T.D. Jakes
“Have you ever been guilty of having a condescending attitude about another person’s weakness? How can we dare to think we can access the soul-cleansing blood that delivers us from the cesspool of our secret sins, and then look down on another member of Christ’s Body in disdain?”
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T.D. Jakes
“When we are placed in a set of circumstances where we have to take initiative and be creative, some of us find it hard to transition. Those people have been trained not to think but to obey orders. They are slaves to the training, unconsciously pledging allegiance to the average. Mentally they recite from the manual of mediocrity.”
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T.D. Jakes
“The Hell of Regret He who wins the race cannot run with the pack. And once you get out you can’t come back, because caged lions don’t mate with free ones! If ever you are going to win, you must forsake the social construct of the cage and all the cage dwellers.”
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T.D. Jakes
“The moment you start to embrace how you have been formed and fashioned is the moment you step into the very purpose for which you were created.”
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T.D. Jakes
“Unfortunately, many of us often spend our lives doing what we were trained to do. Some do what they were asked to do. And most of us do what others need us to do. And all the while, we wonder why the feeling of fulfillment eludes us.”
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T.D. Jakes
“Soon I was to find that people who had been creative at one stage of growth now seemed empty of ideas—and worse, they seemed not to notice that the ground had moved up under their feet! As I grew and encountered higher ideals and new goals, what had once been acceptable now seemed lethargic at best and lethal if ignored. You can’t take everyone with you just because they were with you where you were before.”
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T.D. Jakes
“When God blesses you, not only will He bless you personally, but He will bless your family, your field, your crops, and your land. According to Deuteronomy 28, God will take you who used to be the tail and make you the head.”
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T.D. Jakes
“If you are searching for the secret of true joy, and victorious Holy Spirit-filled Christ living, the answer is simply this: Die! Die and keep on dying daily until all of you is dead and only Christ lives. Death is the key to life and life more abundantly.”
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T.D. Jakes
“soul survivor,” someone who’s willing to open up and examine the pain in order to lance the wound and perforate the power of the past.”
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T.D. Jakes
“What are you going to do with what you have been given?”
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T.D. Jakes
When ideas hang out with influence, income will always emerge.”
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T.D. Jakes
“The struggle may go on much, much longer than you could ever imagine. By the time you get to the end of the fight you can barely hold on. You wonder if you’re crazy for holding on. You’ve been battling so long that you’re worn out. You hope for a stroke of luck. You pray for a bit of divine favor. You look for encouragement and search for compassion and understanding; but mostly, you look for relief. When you’re deep in battle, what you need is strength to keep going, even when it looks like nothing is going to happen.”
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T.D. Jakes