Rick Warren's Blog, page 636

Three Steps to Surrender and Eight Results

The Bible says in 1 John 4:18, “Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear” (NCV).

So how do you learn to live in God’s love so that you can live free of fear?

Every day, you have to surrender your heart to God.

Master Your Moods

If you want to succeed in life, you must learn how to master your moods. When you have emotion that isn’t getting you where you want to go, you’ve got two options: You either change it, or you channel it.

Three Questions to Manage Your Emotions

What are human desires? It’s your emotions and your affections. Now that you are a Christ-follower, your life should be controlled by God’s will, not by how you feel.

Let me give you three questions to ask about your emotions when you’re trying to figure out how to deal with how you feel. When you’re angry or upset or frustrated — whatever you’re feeling — ask these three questions:

Function Follows Form

In architecture, form follows function. Tell me what you want to use the building for, and I’ll tell you how to build it. But in human beings, it’s the exact opposite. Function follows form. Figure out how God shaped you and how he wired you, what he’s given you in spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experience. Then you’ll know what you’re supposed to do with your life.

Don’t Cheat Others of You

When you know what you’re shaped to be, then you know what you ought to be, and you can start focusing on that and make better use of your life.

The moment you step across the line spiritually, you say, “I’m going to go God’s way, not my own way. I’m going to let him direct my life. I want to follow God’s purpose, not my purpose. I’m going to do what I was wired and made to do.”

How to Deal with What You Feel

Learning to manage your emotions is the key to peace of mind.

I want to share with you four important reasons from God’s Word why you need to learn to deal with what you feel.

God Wants an Emotional Relationship with You

Do you hear the emotion in the words of Jesus? He’s saying he doesn’t want you to just kind of love him. He wants you to love him passionately — with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God doesn’t want your head knowledge; he wants an emotional relationship with you.

Think About These Things

For mental health, you must focus your mind on the right things.

1. Think about Jesus.
You’ve heard the saying, “You become what you think about most.” If you want to become more like Jesus, you have to fill your thoughts with him.

How to Fight the Enemies of Good Intentions

The reason why most people are ineffective in life is that they’ve never learned how to fight the battle of the mind.

If you want to learn to manage your mind, you have to deliver it from destructive thoughts. That isn’t easy, because there are three enemies that keep you from fulfilling all your good intentions of changing your life.

Get the Best Information to Live Your Best Life

If you want to have a healthy mind, you must feed your mind with truth.

We all know the importance of nutrition. Good food and good calories make you stronger and healthier and give you more energy. Bad calories and junk food harm your body. The same is true in your thought life. You must feed your mind not with junk or poison but with truth.