Got Potential?

“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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“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow [...]

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Thriving in Tough Times Part 10
“For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.” (James 1:11)
There’s nothing pleasant about tough times. Employment is better than unemployment. Paying [...]

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Tempering Your Faith in World Systems
“What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider’s web.” (Job 8:14)
I was eating lunch at a restaurant in Orlando one summer day a few years back when a thunderstorm knocked out the electricity. Power outages from lightning aren’t uncommon in the Southeast in the summer [...]

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I don’t always believe God is real.
Kind of shocking, isn’t it? But let me present the evidence.
If I believed God was real, I’d believe in what His Son said. I’d take it to heart. I wouldn’t doubt it. I’d have what we ‘believers’ call ‘faith’.
Not believing God is real is more common than you think. [...]

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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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“What good is It, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? (James 2:14)

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he [...]

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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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But acting on God so He will react isn’t the nature of our relationship with Him as He intends it. It’s not up to us to be proactive with God. He spoke the universe into existence. He knew you and purposed your life before the sun first shed its light on this planet. He knows you and your situation right now; He knows what situation you’ll be in tomorrow. God is the proactive One. He acts on the universe and it responds. He acts on you and for you; it’s up to you to respond.

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“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?” (Luke 18:7)
I visited a place called International House of Prayer in Kansas City last week. IHOP for short … yeah, like the pancake house, everybody gets the joke.
Here’s the interesting thing about IHOP [...]

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“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I [...]

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“Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:17-18)
Purpose Weekly

Vol. 2, Issue [...]

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Purpose

Vol. 2 Issue 22

June 3, 2008

The Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing
Is “Church” a Dirty Word? Part III

I may have opened a can of worms by bringing up the definition of “church.” At this point in Christian history we’ve been so ingrained with our concept of what “church” is, it can be a real [...]

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Purpose

Vol. 2 Issue 21

May 27, 2008

The Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”(Matthew 16:18)
Is “Church” a Dirty Word? Part II
Last week we started talking about “church.” We brought out our trusty [...]

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Purpose

Vol. 2 Issue 20
May 19, 2008
The Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
Is “Church” a Dirty Word?
I’ve always felt a little [...]

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