Rick Warren's Blog, page 523

Don���t Just Hope You���ll Go to Heaven

If you went to a mall today and asked people if they were going to Heaven or Hell, you���d likely hear many of them say, ���I hope I���ll go to Heaven.���

But hope just isn���t good enough. I pray that���s not your answer. Your eternal destiny is too important not to know for sure.

Your First Purpose Is to Be Loved by God

Love is always a response to love. The Bible says, ���We love because he first loved us��� (1 John 4:19 NIV). When you say, ���I don���t love God,��� it���s because you don���t understand just how much he really loves you.

We Can Bring Our Messes and Failures to God

There���s a myth that says I have to clean up my act before I can come to God. ���I���ve got to get it all together. There are a few things I need to get right in my life first, and then I���ll come to God.���

Three Realities About Heaven

We have many misconceptions about what Heaven is like. You won���t be an angel. You won���t have wings. You���re not going to be a little chubby cherub, wear a white robe, or float on clouds.

God Knows You and Calls You by Name

All of Zacchaeus��� life, he���d been ridiculed and rejected, first for his appearance and then for his sinful life. But Jesus did more than just look at him. By calling Zacchaeus by name, Jesus showed that he knew him. Imagine the shock Zacchaeus must have felt! How did Jesus know his name?

God Knows You; Is That Disturbing or Comforting?

Accepting the truth that God knows everything in your life can either be very disturbing or very comforting. It depends on your relationship with him and whether or not you���re trying to fool him.

God Is Aware of You and Your Needs

God is omniscient. That means he knows everything, including everything about you and your life. God knows about your faults and failures, your feelings and frustrations ��� and your future.

Nothing Surprises God

God knows everything about your faults and failures and your feelings and frustrations, and he also knows what your tomorrow holds. He knows your future.

God Knows Everything, and That���s Good News

Ever gotten out of bed to make a midnight refrigerator raid, even though you were on a diet? I���ve stood there before with the refrigerator door open, thinking, ���Just one bite . . .���

We get into a debate with ourselves: ���Go ahead. It won���t hurt this one time.��� ���No! I���m on a diet!���

It���s in moments like these that Satan feeds us a devilish excuse: ���No one will ever know.���

God Says You Are Capable

God says you have been gifted for ministry to serve other people. Every Christian is a minister. That doesn���t mean every Christian is a pastor, but you are a minister. Anytime you���re using your talents and gifts to help others, you���re ministering.