Got Potential?

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart …” (Jeremiah 1:5)
I missed sending out a ‘Purpose Weekly’ letter last week. Elaine and I went away for four days so I could write … ironic, isn’t it? There’s a book I’ve been putting off for a [...]

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Last week I told you about my friend Roger and that Roger’s son, Eric, died as child, unexpectedly. That was twenty-five years ago; Roger hasn’t ‘gotten over it’ but he has learned to live with it. The promise that has allowed him to come to terms with the tragedy is that he knows he will, [...]

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“The vision is always a fact. It is the reality that is often a fraud.” (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy)
I’ve been to Israel a half dozen times in the last few years. You’d think it would get old after so many visits … it doesn’t. There’s something about Israel, the Promised Land, that’s different from any [...]

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“In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.” (Exodus 15:13)
I once heard a story about two young men who made a goal of riding through the Sahara Desert on motorcycles. There aren’t a lot of street signs in the Sahara and this was long before the days of GPS devices. They [...]

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By Jenny Lou Jones
During my elementary years, I walked home after school.   Well, it was more like I lollygagged and meandered, especially down the big hill that ended at my house.  That last perilous slope was littered with cracks in the sidewalk that I had to avoid to keep my mother’s back intact.  Where did [...]

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“I’ve always gotten to where I’m going, but it didn’t look the same.” Sounds a little like a Yogi Berra quote, doesn’t it? It’s not. It’s a Steve quote, just ask Elaine, she’ll vouch for me. I’ve always had a decent idea of where I needed to be, sometimes I had a vague idea of [...]

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“… but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)
Since this is the last week of our Thriving in Tough Times series, I’ve been reading over the last ten letters (the whole series) in order to review what we’ve covered and come away [...]

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Pursuing Your God Ordained Purpose
“… Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart …” (Jeremiah 1:5)
“… for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world …” (John 18:37)
Sometimes I feel kind of adrift – like I don’t know what [...]

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Putting Spiritual Priorities Ahead of Physical Priorities
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25)
There was a time I lived in the corporate [...]

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“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)
I used to work for a company that made sponges from [...]

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“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” (Mathew 13:7)
Remember reading the Iliad and the Odyssey in high school? Maybe not. Homer’s ancient epic poems have been made into movies several times. We’re better at remembering movies these days than literature.
Anyway, both the Iliad and the Odyssey are about a character [...]

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“‘Would you discredit my justice?  Would you condemn me to justify yourself.’” (Job 40:8)
I received a sad comment this weekend. It was a response to a Purpose Weekly letter “Has God Forsaken You?” You can read the letter and the comment (feel free to comment yourself) at: http://www.gotpotential.org/gods-purpose/has-god-forsaken-you.
Here’s the comment from John:
Bull____. In one sentence [...]

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“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2)
I took advantage of the relative quiet over the last two weeks of holiday to finish pre-press edits for the North American edition of Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson. It’s a massive [...]

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“And the Scriptures also say, ‘He is the Stone that some will stumble over and the Rock that will make them fall.’ They will stumble because they will not listen to God’s word, nor obey it, and so this punishment must follow - that they will fall. But you are not like that, for you [...]

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Saturday morning came and Cora Lee’s chickens never entered my mind.  Christmas was just three days away and I had a hundred last minute chores still undone.  Sunday morning Ray asked the congregation to remember Cora Lee in prayer. She had slipped into a coma on Wednesday night.
When Ray mentioned Cora’s name Elaine and I [...]

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“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain  poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all …’” (Luke 21: 1-3)
Terry Creek church is perched on a [...]

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“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;” (Psalm 25:4)
One of my favorite movie scenes comes from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” It’s where Indy discovers the cave where the Holy Grail is supposed to be, but he’s separated from the chamber holding the Grail by impassable abyss. His guide book pictures [...]

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“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (I Corinthians 1:25)
Purpose Weekly is a success newsletter. I know it doesn’t always appear that way. Sometimes it’s kind of preachy - talking about spiritual stuff more than practical success.
Yeah, I know that sometimes it [...]

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“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (I Peter 3:9)
Last week I introduced you to a modern day ‘rich young ruler’; Reuel McFarland. Unlike his biblical counterpart, Reuel said yes when Jesus told him, [...]

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“Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.’” (Matthew 19:21)

Hmmm …
How about just being good? How much does that cost?
The passage at the top of this letter comes from a conversation Jesus had with a [...]

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