Wednesday, March 26, 2008

In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day

"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:15-18

Perfect love casts out all fear. As you grow in a relationship with God... the end result is fearlessness!!!!

Mark Batterson, in his book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, makes these very important points:

1. Goodness is not the absence of badness. You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right. Our calling is much higher than simply running away from what's wrong. We are called to chase lions (2 Samuel 23:20-21)- look for opportunities in our problems and obstacles, and take risks to reach for God's best.

2. When we read scripture, our brains are rewired in alignment with the Word, and we develop the mind of Christ.

3. Opportunities often look like insurmountable obstacles.

4. Someday we may be as grateful for the bad things as the good things, because the bad things helped prepare for the good things.

5. We should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of those difficult circumstances.

6. Prayers is less about changing our circumstances and more about changing our perspective.

7. Sometimes taking a calculated risk means giving up something good so you can experience something great.

8. We won' regret the mistakes we made as much as the God ordained opportunities we missed.

"We try to be too reasonable about what we believe. What I believe is not reasonable at all. In fact, it's hilariously impossible. Possible things aren't worth much. These crazy impossible things keep us going." ~Madeline L'Engle

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