Kindle Notes & Highlights
Napoleon Bonaparte said of Jesus: I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions, the distance of infinity. . . . Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world there is no possible term of comparison. He is truly a being by himself. His ideas and his sentiments, the truth which he announces, his
...more
I am your constant companion; I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me, and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed—you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few lessons I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great people and, alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a
...more
Pollster George Barna, in his book, Think Like Jesus, says, “Consider the range of the benefits emerging from thinking and living like Jesus. We are promised physical gain, emotional benefits, superior decision-making capacity, relational advantages, lifestyle enhancements, and spiritual health. The more we devote ourselves to emulating the thought and behavioral patterns of Jesus, the more God is able to bless us and use us for His purposes.”
The Jesus habit of seclusion is withdrawing, momentarily or for an extended period of time, from everyday noise and demands, to spend some time with God for the purpose of connecting with God and allowing your emotional and spiritual batteries to be recharged. This is time built into your daily schedule, no matter how busy and complicated that schedule might be. Yet in our society, finding a place of seclusion is becoming increasingly difficult.
Directo
The word seclusion means “an act of setting somebody or something apart from others. A quiet place removed from activity and people.”
These constant demands drain the body, deplete the emotions, sap the spirit, and stress the soul. That’s why we see Jesus—between those demands—going off by himself because he needed to be renewed, restored, and recharged.
What happens in seclusion determines, for the most part, what happens publicly.
When Jesus withdrew, he often preferred two places: around the water and the mountains.
Water speaks of life, even the storms of life, yet spending time with God can overcome those storms. Mountains speak of strength beyond. Spending time with God gives you strength to deal with anything that comes your way.
Quiet Time without Nap Mats “One hour of quiet concentration in any business can be worth two hours of normal working time, according to the management of a Denver business, quoted in a Success magazine item. “Interruptions are the biggest enemy of creativity,” says Gary Desmond, a principal of Hoover Berg Desmond (HBD),
Artículos seculares
“Our employees all wish they had more quiet hours,” says Desmond. “It gives us what most businesses need so badly, a little time to think.”
His withdrawal demonstrated the priority of prayer in his life, not just for the sake of praying but for intimate time with the Father.
The great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. —John Ortberg
Jesus had just received news about his friend and forerunner, John the Baptist, being beheaded. When we receive bad news, it depletes us emotionally and can sap us spiritually. Further, the demands of performing miracles, healing people, and doing ministry drained him. He used his time alone with God to get refreshed. We are more vulnerable to temptation during times of spiritual and emotional emptiness.
Jesus learned to do spiritual battle during those times of seclusion. Satan attacked him with everything he had, yet Jesus learned privately how to deal with public enemy number one—Satan. Our greatest attacks spiritually come, and our greatest victories are won, most often during those times of seclusion.
Jesus’ times of seclusion were planned so that he could listen to God. Our quiet times must not be controlled by our telling God something, our talking to God, but in listening to him.
Calendar it. You need to know that there will be a set-aside place and time where you deliberately call a time-out. If you don’t calendar it, the urgent will take the place of the necessary.
Practico
Faith is expectation. Expect that God will answer your prayer. He will answer your prayers in one of four ways—“Yes,” “No,” “Wait,” or “I’ve got something else, something better.”
You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. —Dale Carnegie2
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. —Leo Buscaglia
Apparently, each twin was in her respective incubator, and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and placed the babies in one incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby’s heart rate stabilized, and her temperature rose to normal. .
The Lockyear Principle states: “Every touch leaves an impression.”
Jesus’ touch brought freedom from fear. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” (Matt. 17:7) On the Mount of Transfiguration, accompanied by Peter, James, and John, Jesus was transformed into a cloud of glory, and the voice of the Father frightened (terrified) the three. Jesus’ touch calmed their fears. Your touch may say to someone who is afraid, “Everything is going to be OK.” Jesus’ touch brought sight.
Lá observación de cada aspecto de cómo Cristo pone en práctica el tema del apóyalo
What Are the Enemies of the Habit of Touch?
Sección importante por que revela que debemos cambiar
It was late in the 1977 season. Dusty Baker of the Dodgers was rounding third, heading for home, having just hit his 30th home run. And the Dodgers were heading for a National League pennant. The on-deckhitter was Glenn Burke, enjoying his second season in the big leagues. As Baker crossed the plate Burke raised his hand. Baker responded by raising his. The two hands slapped together and a bit of history was made. The first high five in baseball.
Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation: loving confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless. If our reflex action is always accommodation regardless of the centrality of the truth involved, there is something wrong. —Francis Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster
Sometimes confrontation must not be put off. The longer you wait, the worse it will get.
Jesus confronted this woman living in sin, but he also confronted the self-righteous Pharisees for their sinful attitude. There are times when we must confront people about their living in sin.
When Jesus’ earthly family got in the way of his putting his heavenly Father first, he confronted them. There are times you may need to confront your family when your family attempts to get you to put anything else ahead of God.
You must live with people to know their problems, and live with God in order to solve them. —Peter T. Forsyth
Jesus let Martha know that her busyness and activity—as commendable as that might have been—must never be put in front of worshipping him.
Jesus confronted Peter for allowing Satan to suggest through him that he should bypass the cross.
1. Fear—I’m afraid of how the other person will respond. 2. Procrastination—Not now, I’ll wait and see. 3. Assumption—Maybe it will get better. 4. Abdication—Let someone else do it.
Pray for the person that needs to be confronted. Make that person a target of your praying. Intercede for that person prior to confronting him. Prayer creates the atmosphere where real change can take place. 3. Set up a time with the person to talk, in private without interruption, but don’t put it off.
Corazón pastoral
8. State the issue as you see it. Give your perspective of the issue. Say, “This is the way I see it, please help me to understand.” Admit that maybe you misunderstood or got the wrong perspective. 9. Ask how you can help the person. Genuinely let the person know that you are only there to help him. Make sure the person understands your motive is out of love for him, not to hurt him. 10. Be confidential. Never betray a confidence. You will blow it every time and do much more damage if you share a confidence. 11. Pray for the person. Pray for the person right there. Let your prayer reflect your
...more
The Costly Refusal to Change “Of the twenty largest companies in the U.S. forty years ago, only two are still among the first twenty in size. Of the one hundred largest companies twenty-five years ago, almost half have disappeared or have declined substantially from their peak.” Refusal to change spells decline.
In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock. —Unknown
There is no problem that cannot be transformed by a resurrected Jesus Christ.
3. Set goals as to the way you want things to be. Goal setting is powerful. Writing it down becomes the first point in changing things. It is a fact that we tend to do those things we write down more than if we had not written them down.
8. Don’t change just for the sake of change. Have a real purpose in attempting to change things. Change sometimes is not the best. To change without a purpose is to invite confusion. Some things are best left unchanged. Ask yourself, “Why do I feel this needs to change?” 9. Be kind in challenging the status quo. Don’t go in with a prideful attitude that turns people off. You can easily offend people. Change comes so much easier when presented in an atmosphere of kindness. Sometimes it’s not the idea of change that bothers people but the way in which that change is presented. 10. Give it time!
...more
People will rarely remember your advice, but they will remember that you listened. —Cara Lawrence
Jesus was the consummate listener.
Adjetivos a Jesús que normalmente no usamos.
What people really need is a good listening to. —Mary Lour Casey
The world will be more open to our message of the gospel if we will first listen with love to their hurts.
The man had been lame for thirty-eight years. Jesus stopped and listened to this man and healed him. Our listening can bring healing to people’s hurts.
Romanticism
Children are precious to Jesus. We must take the time to listen to what their little hearts are trying to express. It makes them feel valued, and we just might learn something ourselves.
The first duty of love is to listen. —Paul Tillich
she is the most important thing to you. It is the “you matter” factor.
Sensible a los sentimientos e la paersonas , denota un caracer y experiencia pastoral.
Don’t let the conversation wander all over creation. Use a question or make a response to keep or get things back on track.
Give the person the freedom to tell you what they he wants to say. Don’t listen with the attitude of, “I already know what you will say, so I’m going to respond accordingly.” That is a form of prejudice—prejudging what you think the person will say. Not only will you run the risk of missing the person’s point, but you can end up embarrassing yourself. 11. Listen for what is not said. Peter Drucker said, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”3 What is not said can speak volumes about the needs and attitudes of that person. That is third-ear listening.
