Rick Warren's Blog, page 578

Name Your Values, and Then Live By Them

The first resolution: Choose to be who God wants you to be. The second resolution: Choose short-term pain for long-term gain.

And then Moses made a third life-shaping resolution: He chose God���s values, not the world���s. And that���s why God used him!

Choose Short-term Pain for Long-term Gain

Yesterday we learned that, in order to be all that God wants us to be, we have to make this first resolution: ���I resolve that no more will I let other people press me into their mold. I���m going to be what God wants me to be. I���m going to do what God wants me to do, and I���m going to fulfill the plan that God has for my life, not somebody else���s plan for my life.���

Focus on Pleasing God, Not People

God did not make you to be what somebody else wants you to be. God didn���t make you to be what your parents want you to be, what your girlfriend or boyfriend wants you to be, what your spouse wants you to be or your boss or your friends want you to be.

Your Commitments Shape Your Life

You don���t have to understand all the implications of your decision when you choose to follow Jesus. You simply need to respond to his invitation and make a commitment to follow Christ

Your First Step of Discipleship

God wants you to grow up: ���We are not meant to remain as children��� (Ephesians 4:14a Phillips).

How to Remove and Replace Your Old Habits

While you were given a brand new nature at the moment of conversion, you still have old habits, patterns, and practices that need to be removed and replaced.

God Grows Us One Step at a Time

Although God could instantly transform us, he has chosen to develop us slowly. Jesus was deliberate in developing his disciples, just as God allowed the Israelites to take over the Promised Land ���little by little��� so they wouldn���t be overwhelmed (Deuteronomy 7:22). He prefers to work in incremental steps in our lives.

Surrender What Jesus Uncovers

It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time.

How to Help Someone Find Hope and Healing, Part 1

I believe that small groups are a vital part of helping so-called hopeless people find healing. One of the parts I like best about being in a small group is that you can pray for one another���s ���hopeless��� cases. We can lean upon the faith of others when we start to doubt.

Your Life Is Shaped By Your Thoughts

God is far more interested in changing your mind than changing your circumstances.

We want God to take away all of the problems, pain, sorrow, suffering, sickness, and sadness. But God wants to work on you first, because transformation won���t happen in your life until you renew your mind, until your thoughts begin to change.