Craig Groeschel

If you had a friend you refused to talk to, eventually you couldn't keep calling that person a friend anymore.

We can give away all that He entrusts to us in the same spirit of generosity.

Most of all, we remain focused on our Rock that never moves.

If you're a follower of Jesus, He has given you abundance so that you can care for others, not so you can stock up on capri pants for next summer or afford a leather interior in the new SUV.

She said, "Right now, while we have this time, I'm not going to do any of that other stuff. I'm going to seize this moment and simply enjoy being with Jesus while I can." Mary made a deliberate choice. She wasn't being lazy and using company as an excuse to get out of helping her sister with chores. She was choosing to focus on what mattered the most.

If you're a follower of Jesus, He has given you abundance so that you can care for others, not so you can stock up on capri pants for next summer or afford a leather interior in the new SUV. As long as you don't own the responsibility of being blessed with resources so that you can give to those around you, then you can stay focused on getting more for yourself.

For many of us, it's just one thing standing in our way of completely following Jesus.

My friends don't think they're rich, because they know someone who's richer.

But don't ever forget: adultery is also biblical grounds for forgiveness, healing, and restoration.

He is the God who loved you so much that His Son stripped Himself of all heavenly glory to live as an impoverished Jewish carpenter so He could shed His blood, suffer, and die for the forgiveness of our sins.

Love keeps no record of wrongs, but bitterness keeps detailed accounts.

You've never really know what it's like to trust God to provide for you today, because you've got today provided for. And probably tomorrow too. Maybe even into next winter, with all the food socked away in that extra freezer in the garage.

Although we're made right with God by faith, and not by works, the effectiveness of our prayers is often tied to the holiness of our lives.

Jesus never criticized prayers that were honest, only those that were long and showy.

The simplest definition of prayer is communicating with God. That's it. Did you miss it? Let me say it again. Prayer is simply communicating with God. That one uncomplicated thought began to revolutionize my whole prayer life. What is communication? It's transferring a thought, feeling, emotion, or idea to another person. So prayer is giving God my thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ideas, by whatever means works. It doesn't have to be formal. It doesn't have to be long and dry. It's simply communicating.

Paul's one thing was committing to forget about the past, to forge ahead into the future.

But God does give us responsibility, and it takes biblical faith to do those things in dependence on God.

Instead of drifting away from God, you'll be firmly anchored, able to swim against the tide, offering living water to all you meet.