Month: July 2024

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Since we are God’s coworkers, we urge you not to let God’s kindness be wasted on you.” 2 Corinthians 6:1 (GW)

When God gives you another chance to fulfill your mission in life, seize it. Don’t waste it. It’s the time to focus on God’s unique calling for your life.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 6:1, “Since we are God’s coworkers, we urge you not to let God’s kindness be wasted on you” (GW). God’s done so much for you. He’s forgiven your sins. He’s given you more than one second chance.

He will give you another opportunity to serve him.

Take a look at Paul. He was killing Christians because he thought they were heretics who were following a dead and disgraced leader.

But then Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus—and offered him a second chance to fulfill his real mission on earth. Paul accepted his assignment and did a 180-degree turn—and he never forgot the second chance God gave him.

Later in his ministry, Paul said: “I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NCV).

Because Paul was so grateful God was using him, nothing else mattered to him.

No matter how badly you’ve messed up, God hasn’t changed your mission. Maybe you’ve started to drift just a little bit. God still hasn’t changed your mission.

So get back to it. Get started today. When God gives you another chance, don’t delay—obey.

God’s second chances reflect his grace and his love for you.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are.”  Psalm 92:1-2 (CEV)

God loves to give second chances. Consider Jonah. God gave him a mission to tell the people of Nineveh to repent. But Jonah didn’t like Nineveh and wanted the people to experience God’s judgment.

So Jonah ran away from God and ended up in the belly of a fish.

Still, God gave him a second chance!

He’ll give you one too. What do you do when he does?

Live gratefully.

That’s how Jonah responded, at least at first. In fact, he thanked God before he had even been rescued: “As for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving” (Jonah 2:9 CSB).

When God gives you a second chance, do what Jonah did. Wake up every day with profound gratitude for the opportunity God has given you.

The Bible says, “It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are” (Psalm 92:1-2 CEV).

It’s not just a one-time prayer. It’s a lifestyle of gratitude. The psalmist sang God’s praises every morning and every night.

If you’re alive and have blood flowing through your veins, your mission is still in front of you. No matter what has happened in the past, you can thank God for a second chance to fulfill his plan for your life.

It’s worth singing about!

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving. I will keep my vow. Victory belongs to the LORD!”  Jonah 2:9 (GW)

When you feel hopeless, it seems counterproductive to express gratitude. Why would you feel grateful when you’ve hit rock bottom?

Just ask Jonah. At the end of his prayer from the belly of the big fish, before God rescued him, he shows us how to thank God in advance for answering our prayers: “I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving. I will keep my vow. Victory belongs to the LORD!” (Jonah 2:9 GW).

What’s the difference between gratitude before and gratitude after? If I wait to thank God until after he answers my prayer, that’s gratitude. But if I thank God in advance, before he answers my prayer, that’s faith. We always want to thank God when he answers our prayers, but we show faith in God if we also do it beforehand.

How do you thank God in advance? Jonah shows us three ways:

Jonah thanked God by praising him. In Hebrews 13:15, we’re told, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” (NIV).

Jonah thanked God by returning to his mission. Jonah knew he messed up. We’ve all been there, yet that doesn’t stop God’s mission for you. Jonah’s life mission remained the same. Your life mission remains the same, too, even when you mess up.

Jonah thanked God by trusting him for success. Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (NLT).

In Jonah 1, we see Jonah running from God. In Jonah 2, we see Jonah running to God and his grace. In the next chapter, we’ll see Jonah running with God.

God will never abandon you, even if you disobey his will. That’s why you can thank him even before your prayers are answered.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“All who worship worthless idols turn from the God who offers them mercy.” Jonah 2:8 (CEV)

When we’re in trouble, we’re often tempted to find some sort of quick fix—or at least something that will relieve our stress.

People’s families may be falling apart. Their finances may be falling apart. Their careers may be falling apart. Their health may be falling apart. With their backs against the wall, they try everything imaginable to solve the problem. Everything, that is, except asking God for help.

We need to reject any attempts at a false fix, and instead turn to God for help.

Jonah had time to think about this when he was stuck in the belly of a big fish. Here’s what he prayed: “All who worship worthless idols turn from the God who offers them mercy” (Jonah 2:8 CEV).

Today we don’t carve idols. But we still have them. Some of us idolize our cars. Others of us idolize our homes or our clothes. Sometimes people idolize fortune, wealth, or fame. Anything we place above God is an idol.

The only solution for our problems is the grace of God. Anytime we turn to something else, we’re turning to an idol.

Years ago my family was on vacation, and because I like learning about rocks and minerals, we went into a store that sold the kinds of rocks people collect. There was a whole section of quartz crystals that supposedly could solve a variety of problems. For instance, the descriptions claimed the crystals could provide contentment and confidence or supposedly create a protective shield or even give you some sort of psychic intuition.

But I knew they wouldn’t help me with any of those things.

In fact, the crystals and the promises about them reminded me of Romans 1:25: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (NIV).

When you choose to believe something other than God will solve your problems, you’re placing your trust in an inanimate object. You’re serving “created things” rather than “the Creator” himself.

When Jonah was at the bottom of the ocean in a big fish, he didn’t turn to an idol. He trusted God to help—and God came through.

God will do the same for you.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord.”  Jonah 2:7 (TLB)

When you feel hopeless, choose to think about the one thing you know will lift your spirit: the goodness of God.

How did Jonah do it? Here’s what he said: “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord” (Jonah 2:7 TLB).

That’s the answer to hopelessness! You turn your thoughts to God. You think about his goodness, his greatness, his love, his fairness, and his kindness.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for this is metanoia or “repentance.” Repentance doesn’t just mean you stop doing bad stuff. It means you change your mind and look at life from God’s viewpoint instead of your own.

Corrie ten Boom, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, once said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.”

Everything depends on where you’re looking.

As you focus your attention on God’s goodness, look to his Word. One of the verses I’ve leaned on during some of the darkest times of my life is Psalm 27:13, which says, “I know that I will live to see the LORD’s goodness in this present life” (GNT).

It’s a great reminder that God’s purpose in your life is greater than whatever problem you’re facing.

Even though it may be difficult, instead of focusing on your worries, choose to look up and turn your “thoughts once more to the Lord.”

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“I called to the LORD in my distress, and he answered me. From the depths of my watery grave I cried for help, and you heard my cry.”  Jonah 2:2 (GW)

When you’re feeling hopeless, you need to figure out where that feeling is coming from—and then you can begin to pray specifically for what you need. That’s how God wants you to talk with him.

As you pray specifically, I encourage you to take Scripture and pray it back to God. Praying from God’s Word is the key to asking God for help!

That’s what Jonah did when he sank into the ocean and was swallowed by a large fish. In his short prayer in Jonah 2, he prayed eight different Scriptures. Everything he said is a quote from the book of Psalms. Jonah was obviously well-versed in Scripture.

What verses should you pray back to God?

• Pray the laments to God. When you’re angry, go back to one of the laments in Psalms or the book of Lamentations and pray those complaints back to God.
• Pray the truth about God. Pray what the Bible says about God—about his goodness, his fairness, and his justice. All of those topics are in the Bible.
• Pray the promises of God. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prayed, “God, I need you to keep your word. I need you to do what you’ve promised.” Then I’ll pray one of the promises of God I’ve memorized.

Make a point to study God’s Word every single day so that, like Jonah, you can pray God’s Word back to him. And as you do, God will bring hope back into your life.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me!”  Jonah 2:2 (NLT)

When you pray, do you only tell God what you think he wants to hear? Maybe you start with a simple, “Hi, God. How’s it going? I hope you had a good day today.” Then you move forward with a predictable prayer that sounds a whole lot like the last time you prayed.

But God isn’t looking for a trite, memorized, mechanical prayer. He gets bored with prayers like that.

Instead, God wants you to pray passionately.

Jonah can teach us a lot about how to pray passionately. As he dropped down into the ocean and got swallowed by a large fish, he said, “I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me!” (Jonah 2:2 NLT).

As a parent, I always knew when my children said something they didn’t mean. God does too. I can’t imagine Jonah praying from inside of the fish: “Now I lay me down to sleep.”

Jonah didn’t pray that way. Instead, he “cried out to the LORD.” He prayed, “Help! I need help right now!”

God answers frantic, emotional prayers. He wants you to pray what’s on your heart. In the Bible, that’s called lamenting. It’s a synonym for complaining.

Did you know that God wants to hear your complaints? He is interested in every detail of your life—even when you’re not happy.

Many of the psalms are laments, prayers of complaint to God. There’s even an entire book of the Bible called Lamentations, and it’s full of complaints by Jeremiah.

God cares about your pain. He wants to hear what’s on your heart. He would rather listen to your complaints than to a polite prayer you don’t really mean.

If you find yourself in a desperate situation right now (if not, you will at some point), skip the rote prayer. Share your heart with God.

He wants to hear it.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God.” Jonah 2:1 (NIV)

Have you ever felt swallowed up by life? Maybe you were surrounded by depression, conflict, worry, or guilt—and you felt hopeless.

I hope you’re not feeling that way right now, but at some point you will be. You might lose a loved one, your job, or your health.

When you’re faced with a hopeless situation, think about what Jonah did.

After Jonah had run from God’s mission for his life, God prepared a great fish to swallow him up. As he sat in that great fish, Jonah looked up to God.

In fact, the entire second chapter of the book of Jonah is a record of Jonah praying while he sinks into the ocean and gets swallowed by a giant fish. It’s a lesson to us that when we’re feeling overwhelmed, we need to look up to God in prayer.

From the very first verse of the chapter, you see Jonah turning to God: “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God” (Jonah 2:1 NIV).

Some problems in life will never go away unless we learn to look to God in prayer.

In Mark 9, some of Jesus’ followers had been trying to drive a demon out of someone, but they couldn’t. They asked Jesus why.

Jesus responded: “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:29 NIV).

Some problems are so deeply rooted that only persistent prayer will solve them. It’s not about just a one-time prayer. If you only care about something enough to pray about it once, you don’t really care about it. If you truly want to see something happen in your life, you will pray about it over and over.

God wants to see whether you care about it enough to keep praying until he answers. He’s more interested in building your faith than he is in immediately answering every little prayer.

If you’re feeling hopeless today, look up to God and keep praying. Never give up!

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” Jonah 1:2 (NIV)

When God first gave Jonah his mission, it required a huge step of faith. In fact, the step was so big that Jonah initially ran from it.

At the time, Nineveh was the biggest and most important city in the world. It was the capital of Assyria, the strongest empire of the day. Nineveh was a beautiful city with wide boulevards, parks, canals, great architecture, palaces, and temples.

But it was also a very cruel and wicked city. The Assyrians destroyed everything in their path and treated everyone else with racial prejudice.

For Jonah to preach to them, it would take a step of faith. Why? First, Jonah had grown up in a small village. Yet God was calling him to reach the biggest city in the world. Plus, it was more than 550 miles away. It wouldn’t be easy to get there.

Most importantly, Assyria had captured, dominated, and enslaved the Jews multiple times. The Assyrians hated Israel, and Israel hated the Assyrians. They were mortal enemies. They were political enemies. They were religious enemies. They were racial enemies.

But God wanted to save these people too, so he sent Jonah on a mission to them. However, instead of obeying, Jonah ran from God’s plan. He wouldn’t take the step of faith necessary to start his mission, let alone complete it.

Like Jonah’s mission, your God-given mission will test your faith. It may challenge your comfort zones. It may challenge your prejudices. It may challenge your politics.

But you can’t accomplish God’s mission for your life without faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).

What Jonah eventually learned is that God will be with us every step along our mission, guiding and providing for us. Jesus promised this when he gave the Great Commission:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV).

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Jonah immediately tried to run away from the LORD by going to Tarshish.”  Jonah 1:3 (GW)

God gives every one of us a unique mission—and he gives us a choice as to whether or not we fulfill that mission.

God gave Jonah a mission: to warn the people of Nineveh that judgment was coming. But “Jonah immediately tried to run away from the LORD by going to Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3 GW).

Jonah faced consequences for his decision, the same kind of consequences you may encounter if you run away from God’s mission for your life.

The Bible says that when Jonah boarded a ship to get away from his mission, God sent a powerful wind to push the boat back (Jonah 1:4).

Why did God do that? Because he loved Jonah and wanted him to make a good decision that would give him a life of purpose and fulfillment. God sends opposition our way to encourage us to make better decisions.

Jonah’s disobedience also threatened the lives of everyone on the boat to Tarshish. When you run away from God, innocent people—including those you care about—can get hurt. Maybe it’s your spouse, your kids, your grandkids, or your friends. Sometimes it’s people you don’t even know. People can get hurt because of your disobedience.

Jonah shows that when you run from God, your life starts a downward trajectory. Your disobedience will cost you financially, physically, and relationally.

Nineveh was more than 550 miles away, but Jonah tried running to Tarshish, which was 2,500 miles in the opposite direction. The truth is, you can’t run from God for the rest of your life. He’s everywhere and he knows everything. But he gives you choices because he wants you to love him and follow him voluntarily.

Since God has your best interest at heart, why run from him?