Rick Warren's Blog, page 635

You Are God’s Masterpiece

The reason you have value is because of what God says about you, not because of what other people say about you.

Many people lack self-esteem. They don’t feel good about themselves because they’re always trying to pump themselves up by the kind of clothes they wear, the kind of car they drive, and the things they say. They’re always trying to pump themselves up to make them feel better about themselves because they really don’t accept themselves — which is rebellion against God.

Four Steps to Defeating the Giants

How do you defeat the giants that are keeping you from being the man God wants you to be? How do you defeat the fears that keep you from being the woman God wants you to be?

If you want to be a person of great faith with a great dream and a great life work, you do the very things that David did to defeat the giants of delay, discouragement, disapproval, and doubt.

The Giants Between You and Your Dream

In the story of David in 1 Samuel, he actually had to fight four other giants before he got to Goliath. They weren’t physical giants, but they were giants in his mind.

You are far more likely to have to face those giants than a Goliath, but they can be just as big and intimidating and can keep you from becoming who God wants you to be and fulfilling the dream that God has put in your heart.

Here’s What You Should Spend Your Money On

The best use of your money is to use it to get people into Heaven.

Luke 16:9 is a problem verse that most people don’t understand. Jesus says, “Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home” (NLT).

Wise Money Managers Look Ahead

Money is a tool to be used for God’s purposes. We’re not to hoard it. We’re not to stockpile it. We’re not to worship it. We’re to use it! Use temporary resources — what God has put in your hands — for permanent good.

Where Is Your Treasure?

God is using money to test you. He doesn’t just automatically give his blessings to anybody; he tests you first to see if you’re responsible. If he can trust you with material possessions, then he can trust you with spiritual power. But if you’re not even managing your money well, why in the world should he give you the stuff that really matters?

How to Be Biblically Shrewd with Your Money

The Bible tells a story in Luke 16:1-13 of a rich man who enlisted a manager to take care of his property. When the manager was accused of mishandling his master’s money and was called in to give an account of his stewardship, the manager devised a plan. He knew he was going to lose his job and decided to make some friends who would take care of him when he was fired. So, he summoned everyone who owed his master money and lowered their debt; if someone owed 800 gallons of olive oil, he told them to change their bill to 400 gallons.

Godly Goal Setting Starts with a Promise

The Bible has more than 7,000 promises from God to you — promises of success, confidence, health, prosperity, strength, wisdom, and more. Why does God make these promises?

Because he wants you to learn to trust him

Love Others the Way God Loves You

The same love that God gives to you, you are to offer to everybody else that you come in contact with. It’s not an option or a suggestion. It’s a command: “Now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (John 13:34 NLT).

What Does God Think of You?

If you don’t feel loved by God, you’re certainly not going to offer love to anybody else. It is impossible to be loving unless you understand and remember the way God loves you.

You need to remind yourself every day what God thinks about you — not what the world thinks or what you think about yourself. That is what removes your fears.

Let me give you four things God thinks about you to help you remember why and how to love.