Rick Warren's Blog, page 222

Positive Prayer Produces Strong Relationships

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)

Paul didn’t just pray for people in his life. He prayed for them with joy! 

There are probably things in other people’s lives that you’d like to change. You don’t want to change yourself; you want them to change. You always want to change other people—but you can’t!

You can, however, pray and let God do his work in other people.

Positive praying is more effective than positive thinking. All the positive thinking in the world isn’t going to change your spouse, child, friend, or situation. Positive thinking can change you, but it won’t change somebody else. But positive prayer can make a difference in you and in someone else. 

What’s the quickest way to change a bad relationship to a good one? Start praying for the other person! It will change you, and it can change the other person, too.

Paul even told you how to pray for others: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11 NIV).

From these verses, you can learn to pray for the people in your life in four ways:

Pray that they will grow in love: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight . . .” 

Pray that they will make wise choices: “. . . so that you may be able to discern what is best . . .” 

Pray that they will live with integrity: “. . . and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ . . .”

Pray that they will become like Jesus: “. . . filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” 

Pray this for yourself and anyone else in your life, and then watch how God turns around the relationship that seemed hopeless or needed to be revived.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

Think of a strained relationship in your life. How will you pray the four things for that person discussed in today’s devotional?
How does positive prayer change you and not just the person for whom you are praying?
Take a moment and read Galatians 5:22-23. How are you seeing more of this “fruit” in your life as you follow Jesus?

The post Positive Prayer Produces Strong Relationships appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

La Vida es Todo Acerca de las Relaciones

“Sé lo que es vivir en la pobreza, y lo que es vivir en la abundancia. He aprendido a vivir en todas y cada una de las circunstancias, tanto a quedar saciado como a pasar hambre, a tener de sobra como a sufrir escasez. Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece”. Filipenses 4:12-13 (NVI)

El contentamiento no llega naturalmente a los seres humanos. Por naturaleza, somos ovejas inquietas. Aun así, podemos aprender el contentamiento. Aprender contentamiento significa que dejamos de buscar incesantemente.

Filipenses 4:12-13 dice, “Sé lo que es vivir en la pobreza, y lo que es vivir en la abundancia. He aprendido a vivir en todas y cada una de las circunstancias, tanto a quedar saciado como a pasar hambre, a tener de sobra como a sufrir escasez. Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece” (NVI).

Las cosas más grandes en la vida no son las posesiones.

En Estados Unidos se considera una tragedia “morir sin un centavo”. Pero ¿qué mejor momento para irse? Si te fueras en el momento de gastar tu último centavo, lo llamaría sabio, no tonto. ¡Es una forma brillante de vivir y morir!

Nadie pide nunca cosas en los últimos momentos de la vida. Siempre piden personas, porque al final todo el mundo aprende que la vida son las relaciones. ¿Por qué no aprenderlo antes? Seguro que aliviaría mucho el estrés. 

La vida no se trata de éxitos. No se trata de logros.

La vida es todo acerca de las relaciones.

Reflexiona sobre esto:

Qué es más importante para ti: ¿Adquirir cosas o construir relaciones? ¿Tus amigos y familiares estarían de acuerdo con tu auto evaluación?¿Qué piensas que significa dejar un legado? ¿Qué tipo de legado quieres dejar?Pablo dijo en Filipenses 4:13 que él podía hacer todas las cosas a través de Cristo quien lo fortalecía. ¿Qué tipo de cosas crees que él estaba hablando?Síguenos en Instagram  & Facebook Si todavía no has confiado en Jesús y no te has comprometido a seguirlo, ¿por qué esperar más? Si estás listo para cruzar esa línea y tomar la decisión de creer en Jesucristo y seguirlo; haz esta oración .

The post La Vida es Todo Acerca de las Relaciones appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

Focus on the Good Times

“I thank God for the help you gave me.”

Philippians 1:5 (NCV)

Paul wrote the book of Philippians to the church that he started in Philippi, where a woman named Lydia opened up her home and, along with others, welcomed Paul to the city. The Philippian church even helped fund Paul’s missionary journeys. In Philippians 1:5, Paul says, “I thank God for the help you gave me” (NCV).

The thing is, Paul didn’t have a good time in Philippi. In fact, it was one of his toughest churches to get started. When Paul went to this city to start a church, he was beaten, whipped, humiliated, falsely arrested, and thrown into prison. He even survived a major earthquake! Then he was asked by the city leaders to leave town.

Yet Paul told the believers, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God” (Philippians 1:3 NLT).

What is Paul doing here? He is choosing selective memory. Philippi was not a happy place for Paul, and he endured a lot of persecution and suffering during his time there. But he chooses not to dwell on painful memories. Instead, he expresses his gratitude for the good things that had been done for him and through him.

The longer you know someone, the more likely you are to take that person for granted, look for faults, and remember the bad things instead of the good things.

Are you still clinging to painful memories of people in your life? Maybe you’ve never let them off the hook, and so you can’t enjoy those relationships because you’re still holding on to the past.

You need to understand that memories are a choice. I’ve mentioned a story before about Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross. A friend reminded her of a particularly cruel thing somebody had done to her years before. The friend asked, “Don’t you remember?” Her famous reply was, “No, I distinctly remember forgetting it.”

Your memories are a choice. If you want to hold on to your painful memories, go right ahead. But you’re not going to be happy. Paul had a lot of reasons to focus on painful memories of Philippi. But he still chose to be grateful for the people in his life and Gods’ work in and through them.

When you do the same, God will bless your relationships far beyond your expectations.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

Why is it sometimes easier to hold on to painful memories than to replace them with good ones?
How does focusing on good memories change your expectations for the future?
How will you express gratitude today for the people God has placed in your life?

The post Focus on the Good Times appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

Download: 5 Daily Habits for Happiness

DOWNLOAD HERE

Happiness is something everyone wants to have more of in life, but there are certain traps that can make happiness difficult to hold on to. So how can you avoid them?

In this free download, Pastor Rick shares five daily habits of happiness you can start building into your life today.

The post Download: 5 Daily Habits for Happiness appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

No tienes que Demostrar cuanto Vales

“¿Acaso puede una madre olvidar o dejar de amar a su hijo? Y aunque ella lo olvidara, yo no me olvidaré de ti. Yo te llevo grabada como un tatuaje en mis manos”. Isaías 49:15-16 (TLA)

Cuando te encuentras lleno de trabajo, necesitas recordar tu valor ante Dios.

Esto es exactamente lo opuesto con basar tu valor en tu trabajo, tu carrera, o tu rol de tiempo completo. Es contra cultural y puede requerir un gran cambio de pensamiento, especialmente si una vocecita en tu cabeza sigue diciendo: “Tienes que probar que eres valioso”.

No tienes que probar tu valor. Dios dice que ya eres extremadamente valioso. Nunca serás más valioso para Dios de lo que eres justo ahora. Nunca serás menos valioso para Dios de lo que eres ahora.

¿Qué tan valioso eres? Tu Padre Celestial te creó. Jesús murió por ti. Si eres un seguidor de Cristo, el Espíritu Santo vive en ti.

Dios no creó nada sin un propósito o intensión. El hecho de que estés vivo significa que Dios te ama y te quiere vivo. Eres invaluable. Eres una obra maestra.

No es lo que haces lo que te da valor sino a quién perteneces.

Dios te creó, y te ama. Él te hizo justo de la forma que quiso que fueras. ¡No tienes que intentar ser alguien más!

¿Sabías que Dios tiene un tatuaje tuyo? Isaías 49:15-16 dice, “¿Acaso puede una madre olvidar o dejar de amar a su hijo? Y aunque ella lo olvidara, yo no me olvidaré de ti. Yo te llevo grabada como un tatuaje en mis manos” (TLA).

¿Eres perfecto? Absolutamente no. ¿Eres imperfecto? Sí. ¿Eres un pecador? Sí. Pero ¿tienes un valor infinito? Sí. Y eres profundamente amado por Dios.

Reflexiona sobre esto :

¿A quién has estado intentando probar quién eres? ¿Por qué?Si no es suficiente para ti saber y descansar en tu valor para Dios, ¿Por qué crees que es así?¿Cómo cambiaría tu experiencia trabajando si solo intentaras complacer a Dios con tu trabajo y no a nadie más?Síguenos en Instagram  & Facebook Si todavía no has confiado en Jesús y no te has comprometido a seguirlo, ¿por qué esperar más? Si estás listo para cruzar esa línea y tomar la decisión de creer en Jesucristo y seguirlo; haz esta oración .

The post No tienes que Demostrar cuanto Vales appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

To Reach Your Goals, Make a Plan

“Sensible people always think before they act, but stupid people advertise their ignorance."

Proverbs 13:16 (GNT)

If you want to achieve the goals you’ve made for yourself, you’ll need a plan to get from where you are to where you want to go. And you’ll need a plan to overcome the unexpected problems you’ll face on that journey. Without a plan, you won’t have the roadmap you need to reach your goals.

Genesis 24 tells the story of Abraham’s chief servant’s ingenious plan to find a wife for Abraham’s son, Isaac. The servant had two major obstacles to fulfilling his goal. Where would he find a wife for Isaac in his master’s homeland? And how was he going to find a high-character woman without observing her long-term? He devised a plan to solve both of these problems. 

First, the servant went to a place where women gathered in those days—a well. He had much higher odds of finding a wife at that well than at any other place he could have gone.

And he knew exactly how to get the type of wife he wanted for Isaac. He wanted to find a compassionate woman, so he looked for someone who would offer to draw up to 15 gallons of water for each of his 10 camels. That’s a lot of water!

He didn’t just rely on guesswork to accomplish his goal. Instead, he prayerfully established a plan, and, ultimately, he was successful. In doing so, he proved what the Bible says in Proverbs 13:16: “Sensible people always think before they act, but stupid people advertise their ignorance” (GNT).

Good planning—whether that plan is for your family, your work, your ministry, or a different area of your life—has three parts to it:

Steps: You need to establish how you are going to get from where you are now to where you want to go. Write down those steps. Deadlines: Assign a date to each step. A goal is a statement of faith as you plan what you believe God wants you to accomplish by a particular date.Schedule: Write those dates into your calendar. Don’t just hide them in a filing cabinet or up on a shelf. If you show me what’s on your calendar, I can tell you what’s important to you.

Studies show that only 5 percent of Americans have written goals for their lives; those same 5 percent are also the highest wage earners in the nation. Successful people set their direction and go for it. Unsuccessful people drift; life just happens to them. Without any goals, they don’t know where they’re going in life and time just passes by.

Don’t let your life drift by. Instead, follow the example of Abraham’s servant. Set a clear goal and then develop a plan to reach it!

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

What part of the planning process do you struggle with the most: writing down your steps, planning a schedule, or keeping deadlines? What can you do to grow in that area?
Why do you think God honors good planning?
Choose one goal that you have set for yourself. Take time today to write step-by-step plans for reaching the goal. Then assign a deadline date to each step and put those dates in your calendar.

The post To Reach Your Goals, Make a Plan appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

Si quieres Crecer en la Vida, tienes que Aprender a Descansar

“De nada sirve que ustedes se levanten muy temprano, ni que se acuesten muy tarde, ni que trabajen muy duro para ganarse el pan; cuando Dios quiere a alguien, le da un sueño tranquilo”. Salmo 127:2 (TLA)

Cuando comenzamos la Iglesia Saddleback, trabajábamos dieciocho horas al día. Kay preparaba comidas y recibía personas en nuestra casa dos veces por semana. Tuvimos a cada miembro de nuestra iglesia en nuestra casa al menos una vez durante esos primeros dos años. En el último domingo del primer año, me levanté para hablar y me desmayé. Estaba exhausto física, emocional, espiritual y relacionalmente.

Durante el siguiente año, Dios me enseñó algunas cosas sobre el balance el cual he estado aprendiendo una y otra vez desde entonces. Esto es lo que he aprendido: Dios no te dará todo lo que prometió en una sola vez. Puede ser que no estés preparado para manejarlo todo, o puede ser que es demasiado para que lo controles hasta que madures. Las promesas de Dios se cumplirán poco a poco mientras creces.

La Biblia dice en Salmo 127:2, “De nada sirve que ustedes se levanten muy temprano, ni que se acuesten muy tarde, ni que trabajen muy duro para ganarse el pan; cuando Dios quiere a alguien, le da un sueño tranquilo” (TLA).

Cuando colapsé en la iglesia, me di cuenta de que resistirte a descansar es inmadurez. Recuerda, Roma no se construyó en un día y tampoco lo vale la iglesia o cualquier otra cosa. 

Mientras Dios está haciendo crecer tu negocio, Él también te hace crecer. Mientras Dios está haciendo crecer a tus hijos, también te está haciendo crecer. Mientras Dios está haciendo crecer tu carrera, también te está haciendo crecer. Para poder crecer en la vida, tienes que aprender a descansar en la bondad de Dios.

Reflexiona sobre esto :  

¿Cuáles son tus razones para sobre trabajar en casa, la escuela o el trabajo?¿En qué te enfocas cuando sobre trabajas?Basado en tu agenda diaria, ¿Cuál es tu más alta prioridad: ¿Terminar tu lista de pendientes o crecer espiritualmente? ¿Por qué?Síguenos en Instagram  & Facebook Si todavía no has confiado en Jesús y no te has comprometido a seguirlo, ¿por qué esperar más? Si estás listo para cruzar esa línea y tomar la decisión de creer en Jesucristo y seguirlo; haz esta oración .

The post Si quieres Crecer en la Vida, tienes que Aprender a Descansar appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

God’s Promises Fuel Godly Goals

“For the LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son."

Genesis 24:7 (NLT)

Many people have a regular time to set goals—maybe at the start of a new calendar year or on their birthday. They resolve to lose weight, to spend more time with their kids, to read more, to achieve something specific at work, or some other noble (or not so noble) goal.

But not every goal is a godly goal. Godly goals are aligned with God’s promises in his Word. His promises give you the courage and faith to move forward when it feels much more natural to be scared or worried.

In Genesis 24, Abraham gave his chief servant a very tough goal: to find a wife for his son, Isaac. At first the servant let fear get the best of him. He asked Abraham, “But what if the woman refuses to leave home and come with me?” (Genesis 24:5 The Message)

Abraham then reminded his servant of God’s promise: “For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son” (Genesis 24:7 NLT).

After Abraham reminded his servant of the Lord’s promise, his fear vanished.

The same thing happens with you. It’s scary to put everything you have into a big goal. No one wants to fail. But the Bible urges you not to rely on your own strength to reach your goals. In fact, if you can accomplish your goals in your own strength, you’re not pursuing godly goals in the first place.

What does God’s Word say about your goals? You’ll never know unless you get to know what the Bible teaches. It’s like having an insurance policy but not knowing what that policy covers. You’d worry needlessly about many things.

In the Bible God promises to help you as you get healthy, become a better parent, eliminate your debt, and more. But unless you know those promises and claim those promises, you’ll worry about how you’ll be able to achieve those goals.

The truth is, you don’t need a big faith to accomplish huge goals. You just need a little faith—in a big God! Your God is the God of the universe. He can do anything.

Are you ready to trust God for the unbelievable?

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

How do broken promises from people in your past impact your ability to trust God?
What promise from God’s Word do you need to lean on to reach your godly goals?
How does claiming the promises of God give you the confidence to pursue your goals?

The post God’s Promises Fuel Godly Goals appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

Dios quiere que Descanses

“En verdes pastos me hace descansar. Junto a tranquilas aguas me conduce”. Salmo 23:2 (NVI)

¿Siempre andas corriendo? ¿tu lista de pendientes es demasiado larga? ¿más de una persona te ha dicho que tomes un descanso? ¿te sientes culpable cuando estás descansando? ¿tienes que enfermarte para tomar un tiempo de descanso?

El ritmo de nuestra sociedad moderna nos lleva a seguir y seguir y seguir. Muchas personas trabajan incluso en su día libre. Y esas quienes van al servicio de la iglesia a menudo regresan a casa solo para continuar el trabajo (ya sean tareas del hogar, tarea de la escuela o tareas pendientes de trabajo), intentando hacer todas las cosas que no completaron durante los días laborales. Por encima de todo eso, algunas personas piensan que a Dios le agrada cuando están trabajando, orando o haciendo actividades “espirituales”.

¡Sin importar que estamos exhaustos! La mayoría de nosotros estamos al máximo. Pero esa no es la forma del buen pastor.

Dios, en su bondad, creó el descanso porque lo considera tan importante como el trabajo. Un pastor amoroso se asegura de que sus ovejas obtengan el suficiente descanso para mantenerse sanas. Si no descansas, Dios te hará descansar. Algunas veces la única manera que Dios puede hacerte mirar hacia arriba es acostándote boca arriba. Lo hará porque le importa tu salud física, emocional y espiritual.

Salmo 23:2 dice: “En verdes pastos me hace descansar. Junto a tranquilas aguas me conduce” (NVI).

Darle lo mejor a Dios requiere que descanses.

Reflexiona sobre esto :  

¿Que representa para ti “en verdes pastos” y “junto a tranquilas aguas” como dice el Salmo 23:2?¿Por qué muchas personas se saturan de trabajo y no obtienen el descanso suficiente?¿De qué maneras puedes cambiar tu agenda o expectativas en la casa y en el trabajo para que tengas suficiente descanso?Síguenos en Instagram  & Facebook Si todavía no has confiado en Jesús y no te has comprometido a seguirlo, ¿por qué esperar más? Si estás listo para cruzar esa línea y tomar la decisión de creer en Jesucristo y seguirlo; haz esta oración .

The post Dios quiere que Descanses appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

The Power of a Focused Life

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty."

Proverbs 21:5 (NLT)

If you want God to use you in great ways, you need focus. The more focused you are, the more effective you’ll be—and the more God will use you.

There’s awesome power in focus. Diffused light doesn’t have much of an effect on what it touches. But when you focus light—like the sun’s light through a magnifying glass—you can light a piece of paper or grass on fire. If you can focus it even more, it becomes a laser. A laser can cut through steel and destroy cancer.

The same is true with your life. If the course of your life lacks direction, you’ll just drift through without making an impact. But if you focus your time on a few key goals, then you can make a powerful impact on the world for God.

The Bible says, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 NLT).

One of the great examples of focus in the Bible is the story in Genesis 24. Abraham was getting old, and his son still hadn’t married. God had promised Abraham that he would create a great nation through Abraham’s own family, which God did. But Abraham’s son, Isaac, still didn’t have any children. He wasn’t even married yet. So Abraham gave his chief servant a goal of finding a wife for his son. Abraham told his servant, “Don’t get a wife from the Canaanite girls who live around here. Go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and find a wife for my son Isaac.”

Like all good goals, the servant’s was clear. He knew he needed to find Isaac a wife, and he knew exactly what kind of wife to look for. He needed to find a wife from Abraham’s homeland.

You’ll never reach a vague goal because you’ll never know if you’ve completed it. Abraham’s servant didn’t have that problem.

For example, if your goal is to be a better parent, that’s vague. Even if you make the goal to spend more time with your children this year, you’ll never really know if you’ve completed the goal because it isn’t specific.

But if you commit to spending an hour every Tuesday evening with your children, that’s a specific goal. You’ll know whether or not you’ve completed it. Those kinds of goals will give you the focus to change your life.

What specific goal will you set for yourself this week?

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

When a goal is very specific, how does that empower you to complete it?
What specific goal do you want to set for yourself and why?
Who can keep you accountable and encouraged as you work to reach your goal?

The post The Power of a Focused Life appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.