Rick Warren's Blog, page 394

Tell It Like It Could Be

When you have high expectations of someone, you don’t tell it like it is. You tell it like it could be. You believe in what God wants to do in and through that person, and you affirm God’s purpose for them.

An excellent example of how this works is a story from Bruce Wilkinson, an author and teacher. Years ago he was a new professor at Multnomah University, and at the first faculty meeting, he received his class assignments. Another professor saw his sheet and said, “Bruce, you’ve been given two of the section A classes. They’re the brightest students in the university. They’re really engaged and a joy to teach. You’re fortunate to have section A students in your first year.”

Bruce discovered that to be true—he absolutely loved teaching those kids. They were so much more fun to teach than the other classes. They were smarter and asked better questions.

At the end of the year, Bruce told his department supervisor, “Man, I sure hope I get the section A classes again next year!” The supervisor told him, “Bruce, there is no section A. We canceled that program six years ago.”

When Bruce went back and checked his grade books, he found that those “section A” classes may not have been advanced placement, but they got more A’s and wrote more thoughtful term papers than his other classes. Bruce realized that because he expected them to be better students, they rose to the challenge.

Throughout your life, you will shape the people around you by your expectations of them. When you expect the best from others, you are reflecting the lasting love of Jesus.

The apostle Paul tells us that love does not nag or perpetually bring up past mistakes. The Bible says, “Love . . . always looks for the best” (1 Corinthians 13:7 The Message). Lasting love is forward-looking. It’s optimistic.

Lasting love is full of hope.

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Lasting Love Extends Grace

No relationship will survive without grace. You’ve got to cut people some slack! You’ve got to let things go.

The Bible says, “Love patiently accepts all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NCV). In the original Greek, this literally means “covered with a roof.” Would you buy a house without a roof? Of course not. You’d have no protection from wind and rain. A roof covers and protects your home.

In the same way, biblical love covers a relationship and lets some things slide. It doesn’t haul people into account for every mistake they make. You need a roof on your relationship because people damage pretty easily, and we need the kind of love that extends grace.

Why is grace essential to relationships?

The Bible says in Romans 3:10 that no one always does what is right. Nobody gets it right 100 percent of the time. It’s never just one person’s fault. There’s always a responsibility on both sides. It takes two people to disagree!

We have to learn to extend grace to each other, because forgiveness is a two-way street. We cannot receive what we’re unwilling to give to other people.

You build strong relationships by treating other people the way God treats you. Romans 15:7 says, “Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you” (NLT). When you accept others as they are, looking past their faults for the sake of love, that’s extending grace.

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The Most Important Habit for Spiritual Fitness

We’ve been learning about how loving others the way God wants requires developing habits that keep you physically, emotionally, and spiritually renewed.

The Bible says real love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8 NIV). You can’t love people that way without God’s help. And you don’t have that kind of power when you’re running on empty spiritually.

Watch for signs that you may be headed for spiritual burnout. For instance, it may seem nothing (such as loving someone else) is worth the effort, or maybe you start blaming God for your problems. This isn’t unique to you; many of the Bible’s great heroes, like David, Moses, and Abraham, did the same things when they were in burnout stages.

You maintain spiritual fitness in the same way you stay physically fit: by being intentional and disciplined. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8 NLT).

No discipline is more important in developing spiritual fitness than spending regular, daily time with God.

Nothing will help your life more than time spent alone with God, where you let him talk to you through the Bible and you talk to him through prayer. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:16 that even if outwardly your body suffers wear and tear, inwardly you can be spiritually renewed by spending time alone with God. This can take just 10 minutes in your living room chair before your day starts.

You need that time alone with God because the quality of your relationship with God determines the quality of every other relationship you have.

Human love will wear out. But to love more like Jesus, make your quiet time the number one priority in your day. When you do, your relationships will be transformed by the power of God’s love through you.

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Para Escuchar a Dios, Tienes que Acercarte a Dios

“¡Pues el Señor concede sabiduría! De su boca provienen el saber y el entendimiento”. Proverbios 2:6 (NTV)

Tú dices, “Quiero confiar en Dios, pero no lo escucho”.

No escuchas a Dios cuando tu mente está llena con miles de otras distracciones. Para escuchar a Dios, tienes que estar cerca de Dios. Tienes que estar a solas con Dios y estar tranquilo.

La Biblia dice, “Quédense quietos, reconozcan que yo soy Dios”  Salmo 46:10 (NVI). Eso significa que te sientes y estés tranquilo. Así es como escuchas a Dios y estás cerca de Dios. Tienes que sentarte solo y solo estar quieto con tu Biblia y decir, “Dios, ¿Hay algo que quieres decirme?” Lee la Palabra de Dios, y habla con Él sobre lo que está en tu corazón.

Dios dice que Él te dará la sabiduría que necesitas para reconocer su voz y entender lo que dice: “¡Pues el Señor concede sabiduría! De su boca provienen el saber y el entendimiento” Proverbios 2:6 (NTV).

Haz esta oración hoy: “Dios, quiero escucharte, no a las voces de la duda. Quiero estar más cerca de ti y conocerte mejor. Quiero escucharte y prometo obedecerte. Quiero ser una de las personas que puedas usar y bendecir”.

Reflexiona sobre esto:

¿Qué necesitas cambiar sobre la forma en la que te encuentras con el Señor para que puedas estar tranquilo y acercarte a Él?
¿Cómo reaccionas normalmente a las instrucciones de Dios para tu vida?
¿Cómo puedes demostrar que estás listo para obedecer lo que Dios te manda a hacer?

¿Has aceptado el amor de Dios e invitado a Jesús a tu vida?

Quiero que tengas esa oportunidad justo ahora. ¿Estás listo? Aquí está una oración con la que puedes empezar:

“Querido Dios, yo sé que cuando muera voy a darte cuenta de mi vida. Sé que por mucho tiempo te he ignorado. Confieso que he amado otras cosas más de lo que te amo. He pecado contra ti, he vivido de acuerdo con mi plan, no al tuyo”.

“Quiero que eso cambie, comenzando desde ahora. Quiero volver de mi pecado y volver hacia ti. Gracias por enviar a Jesús a morir por todo lo que he hecho mal. Yo sé que no merezco tu perdón y que solo soy perdonado a causa de la muerte de Jesucristo. Y sé que tú puedes darme nueva vida, una vida libre del pecado, a causa de la resurrección de Jesús”.

“Yo sé que solo tu gracia puede salvarme. Señor, nunca podré ser lo suficientemente bueno para entrar al cielo por mis méritos. Jesús, gracias por amarte tanto que tomaste toda mi culpa sobre ti. Me hiciste aceptable ante Dios. Sálvame del pecado y de los hábitos que está corrompiendo mi vida justo ahora. Yo creo en ti, Jesús. Y creo que mantienes tu promesa de salvarme instantánea, segura, completa y eternamente. En tu nombre oro, amen”.

Ahora, si hiciste esta oración por primera vez, o te reconciliaste con Jesús hoy, por favor házmelo saber. Me puedes escribir a esperanza@PastorRick.com, quiero enviarte algunos materiales para que inicies tu viaje con Jesús.

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Emotional Health Leads to Healthy Relationships

When you need to be physically recharged, your body gives you various signs. If your stomach growls, it’s time to eat. If your eyelids get heavy, it’s time to sleep.

We tend to notice those signs, but we often overlook the other signs that say we need emotional recharging, such as a sense of being overwhelmed, a short fuse, an impatient outburst, or avoiding people. You also have no desire to love people when your emotional tank is running low.

To keep on loving well and doing the things God’s called you to do, keep your emotional tank full. How do you do that?

First, get some time alone. Even Jesus withdrew from crowds when he needed to recharge himself emotionally. Mark 6:31 says, “Then Jesus suggested, ‘Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.’ For so many people were coming and going that they scarcely had time to eat” (TLB). People who are available all the time aren’t really fully available unless they set aside time to rest.

Then figure out what activities recreate energy in your life and recharge you. Each one of us has different things that recharge us because we’re all made differently. It may be hobbies, a sport, a craft, or games for you. Find out what recharges you emotionally, and then make time for it.

Jesus was the most intensive, ministry-oriented person who ever lived, yet the Bible says, “The Son of Man came, enjoying life” (Matthew 11:19 PHILLIPS). You weren’t made to be exhausted all the time. You were made to be more like Jesus.

Finally, develop the habit of laughter. The Bible says, “Being cheerful keeps you healthy” (Proverbs 17:22 GNT). Laughter increases the number of T-cells in your body, which raises your immunity and releases endorphins in your brain. Laughter is good for your health! It’s God’s gift to you that doesn’t just make you enjoy life more; it also helps you love others well.

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Are You Too Tired to Love Others Well?

It’s hard to love when you’re tired.

That’s right: Your physical condition has a strong impact on your relationships. Being energetic makes a big difference!

What happens to your relationships when you’re run-down? Things that are usually small issues become big problems. You may be crankier, defensive, or more critical when you’re low on energy.

If you’re committed to becoming better at loving others, develop habits that refresh you physically. The Bible teaches us many principles for health, but the three most basic are proper rest, a balanced diet, and regular exercise.

Rest. Psalm 127:2 says, “It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night . . . for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest” (TLB). If you are too tired to love your kids, your spouse, or a roommate, then your problem is first physical, not spiritual. It’s amazing how much better things look after a good night’s sleep.

Balanced diet. The Bible says, “You made my body, Lord; now give me sense to heed your laws” (Psalm 119:73 TLB). God provides wonderful delights for us to enjoy and savor. We are meant to enjoy food! But he has also given us wisdom to know what and how much is good to put in our body—and what is not. We just need to do it.

Regular exercise. “God has bought you with a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God” (1 Corinthians 6:20 TLB). To overcome fatigue, you must commit to regular exercise. Study after study shows that exercise doesn’t deplete your energy. It actually increases your energy.

God never meant for you to go through life exhausted. When you’re too tired to love others well, take a good look at how much you’re resting, what you’re eating, and how often you exercise. Then make better—and often more difficult—choices to take care of yourself.

You and those you love will only benefit in the long run.

This devotional © 2020 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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To Be Good at Loving Others, You Have to Practice

Love is a skill. If you struggle to love well, here’s some good news: Love is learned! That means the more you practice, the better you will become at it. No matter how you’ve loved or been loved in the past, you can become amazing at loving others.

In fact, God wants you to be become a master at this skill. He wouldn’t tell you to love others if he wasn’t going to help you to do just that.

Yet many people never learn how to love.

Do you want to be known as a person of extraordinary love? When people speak of how you love others, do you want them to say, “He loves you regardless of where you’ve been,” or “She loves you no matter what you’ve done”? Do you want to be remembered for how much you owned or accomplished, or do you want to be remembered for how well you loved?

God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will teach and enable you to love others. But to become extraordinary at it, you need to practice it over and over again. It may feel awkward at first as you learn to love with a greater capacity than is humanly possible, relying on the powerful and supernatural love of God to work through you. But the more you love like this, the better you will become at loving unconditionally.

The Bible says in 1 John 4:7 that love comes from God. When you practice and commit to loving others like Jesus loves you, they will take notice and will be drawn to God.

This devotional © 2020 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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Serving God or Money?

If God told you to give something away right now and you said, “God, I could give anything else away, but not that,” then you don’t own that thing—it owns you. God will test what’s really first in your life by asking you to give away the very thing you’re holding most tightly.

Luke 16:13 says, “No one can serve two masters . . . You cannot serve both God and money” (NIV).

You’ve got to decide whom or what you’re going to serve, and your giving will reflect your decision. If God is Lord of your life, then he should be Lord of your wallet, too.

There once was a wealthy man who gave to Christian causes far above his tithe. He said he met with a financial planner years ago. After they had talked for a while, the financial planner took a sheet of paper and drew a box, and outside of it he put a dollar sign representing money and a cross representing Christ. He said, “I hear two things vying for your attention. I can’t help you plan your life until you tell me which of these things you want in the center of that box, which represents your life.” The wealthy man thought about it a moment and then said, “I want Christ at the center of my life.” That was a turning point—that was when he started investing in eternity.

If somebody drew a box and asked what’s in the center of your life, what would you say? Would you place a cross or dollar sign inside the box? Would your bank statement support your answer? You can say something holds first place in your life, but the way you spend your time and money reveals the truth.

There are two key choices in your life when it comes to your finances: who will be your master and where you will put your money—eternity or here and now.

“Store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are” (Matthew 6:20-21 GNT).

God doesn’t need your money. He wants what it represents: your heart. You can show God that he has your whole heart by surrendering control of your money to him and committing to give what he tells you to give in service to him and others.

This devotional © 2020 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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La Fe, no los Sentimientos, Complace a Dios

“Desnudo salí del vientre de mi madre, y desnudo estaré cuando me vaya. El Señor me dio lo que tenía, y el Señor me lo ha quitado. ¡Alabado sea el nombre del Señor!”. Job 1:20b-21 (NTV)

Cuando eres un bebé cristiano, Dios te da muchas emociones de confirmación y muchas veces responde a las oraciones más inmaduras y egocéntricas, para que sepas que Él existe. Pero a medida que creces en la fe, Él te despojará de esa dependencia.

La omnipresencia de Dios y la manifestación de Su presencia son dos cosas diferentes. Uno es un hecho; el otro es a menudo un sentimiento. Dios siempre está presente, aun cuando no lo sepas y Su presencia es demasiado profunda para ser medida por la sola emoción.

Sí, Él quiere que sientas Su presencia, pero está más preocupado que confíes en Él que en tus sentimientos. La fe, no los sentimientos, complace a Dios.

Las situaciones que más aumentan tu fe serán aquellas épocas en que la vida se desmorona y Dios no está en ninguna parte. Esto le sucedió a Job. En un solo día perdió todo: su familia, su negocio, su salud y todo lo que poseía. ¡Desalentador, por 37 capítulos, Dios no dijo nada!

¿Cómo alabas a Dios cuando no entiendes lo que está pasando en tu vida y Dios está en silencio? ¿Cómo te mantienes conectado en una crisis sin comunicación? ¿Cómo guardas tus ojos en Jesús cuando están llenos de lágrimas? Tú haces lo que hizo Job: “Se postró en el suelo para adorar y dijo: “Desnudo salí del vientre de mi madre, y desnudo estaré cuando me vaya. El Señor me dio lo que tenía, y el Señor me lo ha quitado. ¡Alabado sea el nombre del Señor!” Job 1:20b-21 (NTV).

Dile a Dios exactamente cómo te sientes. Derrama tu corazón delante de Dios. Descarga todas tus emociones. Job hizo esto cuando dijo: “No me voy a callar. Hablaré en medio de mi angustia, contaré detalladamente todos los sufrimientos que he tenido en mi vida” Job 7:11 (PDT).

El clamó cuando Dios parecía distante: “¡Qué días aquellos, cuando yo estaba en mi apogeo y Dios bendecía mi casa con su íntima amistad!” Job 29:4 (NVI).

Dios puede manejar tu duda, ira, miedo, dolor, confusión y preguntas. Tú puedes presentarle todo a Él en oración.

Reflexiona sobre esto:

¿De qué manera puedes mostrarle a Dios que confías en Él aun cuando no sientas Su presencia?
¿Cuáles son algunas de las cosas por las que puedes alabar a Dios, incluso cuando no entiendes lo que está pasando en tu vida?

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Leave a Great Example Instead of a Big Inheritance

Have you ever heard about the death of a wealthy person and thought, “I wonder how much they left behind”?

Here’s a little secret: They left it all!

Ecclesiastes 5:15 says, “We leave this world just as we entered it—with nothing. In spite of all our work there is nothing we can take with us” (GNT).

If you don’t get any credit for your wealth when you get to heaven and you’re going to leave it all behind, then what is the purpose of amassing it here on earth?

Some might say they intend to leave their fortune to their kids. But studies have shown that most of the time, inherited wealth does more damage than good to the next generation.

A few years ago Inc. magazine published an article about whether parents should pass their money on to the next generation. They interviewed children of entrepreneurs, many of whom said they would prefer their parents leave them the knowledge of how to get money rather than the money itself. In other words, they didn’t want the result of their parents’ labor. They wanted the example of their labor. They understood that you can’t appreciate what you don’t work for. Inherited wealth tends to breed irresponsibility.

Nobody had more to leave his family than King Solomon in the Old Testament. He acquired more wealth than almost anyone else in history. He left everything to his son—his wealth, his rule, his power, his treasures. But it ruined his son’s life. Rehoboam was a moral washout who couldn’t handle what he hadn’t worked for himself.

It is not a sin to want to make more money. It is not wise, however, to stockpile more money than you need so that you can leave it to somebody who may not be able to handle it.

Instead, learn to use your money wisely now. Spend the money you have—whether it’s a little or a lot—on getting more people into heaven. Rather than leaving your children a large inheritance that they won’t know how to handle, leave them an example of generosity. When you do, you’ll be making an investment for eternity.

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