Month: September 2024

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“A fool expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them.”  Proverbs 29:11 (GW)

Some of the clearest evidence of maturity and responsibility in your life is when you can handle the pressures, problems, and pains of life without becoming angry. The key to responsibility is learning to control your emotional reactions. Instead of exploding with anger when people hurt you, God wants you to turn around and do good to them.

The way we usually express our emotions is through our words. Proverbs 29:11 says, “A fool expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them” (GW).

If you want to be responsible, God says you have to put your mind in gear before you put your mouth in motion. You can’t just say anything that floats through your mind. You need to think before you speak! That’s being responsible.

The Bible says, “People will be responsible for every careless thing they have said” (Matthew 12:36 NCV). One day when we get to heaven, we are going to be held responsible for every thoughtless word we’ve said. We can’t always control our emotions. But God will judge how responsible we were with expressing them.

One of the ways you show responsibility is by not trying to get even with people who hurt you. When somebody slanders you, steals from you, or mistreats you, don’t lower yourself to their standard by trying to get even. Instead, choose the higher way—God’s way—and forgive that person. Trust God to handle it and serve justice. Then you can move on with your life. 

“Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good” (Romans 12:21 TLB).

When someone cuts you off in traffic, what is your first reaction? When you find out someone is gossiping about you, how do you respond? When someone hurts you with their words, actions, or lack of care, do you treat them the same way so they know how you feel?

Choosing to follow Jesus means making the choices that honor him and show responsibility. When you have a choice, choose to think before you speak. Then, choose grace and forgiveness.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.”  Proverbs 15:14 (NLT)

Our minds control everything else about us. Our thoughts influence our feelings. And our feelings impact our actions.

What you think matters, because everything starts in the mind. To be a responsible person, you have to control your thoughts.

But let me relieve you of some false guilt: You’re not responsible for every stray thought that passes through your mind. Stray thoughts enter our minds for a variety of reasons, like conversations you hear by accident, things you see, or stuff the Devil puts in your mind.

You’re responsible for how you deal with those stray thoughts. Martin Luther said it like this: “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

God will hold you accountable for what you allow to enter your mind.

I’m amazed by what some people watch—not to mention what they let their children watch. Many followers of Jesus spend their time watching TV shows and listening to podcasts that have absolutely no moral, emotional, or educational value. They pay good money to see deviant behavior as entertainment. People watching such shows have told me, “When I go see those kinds of things, it just doesn’t phase me. It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t affect me.”

But that’s just not true!

Scientists have done study after study that says you never really forget any scene you see. Even if you don’t consciously recall the scene, that idea will come right back to your mind—in living color—when something else stimulates the thought.

In other words, “Garbage in, garbage out.” What you put into your mind will inevitably bear fruit in your behavior and beliefs. In fact, when cheap entertainment doesn’t bother you anymore, it’s a warning light that you’ve already passed the threshold.

One of Satan’s greatest tricks for attracting you to sinful lifestyles is comedy. That’s why on TV or in movies, deviant behavior often starts in a comedic situation. If Satan can get you laughing at something that is sinful, then you’ve already lost the battle.

Sin isn’t funny. Sin put Jesus on the cross.

Proverbs 15:14 says, “A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash” (NLT).

Are you hungry for more knowledge of God, or are you content to keep a steady diet of entertainment that breaks his heart? You have the power to decide what you feed your mind.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.”  Proverbs 28:13 (TLB)

God is always ready to give you another chance. That’s a foundational piece of Christianity. We’ve all been irresponsible. We’ve all screwed up. The Bible tells us, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT).

You’re not meant to go through life with a guilt trip about all the ways you’ve been irresponsible. Guilt destroys your confidence, damages your relationships, keeps you stuck in the past, and even hurts your health. I read a report a few years back that said 70 percent of people in the hospital could leave if they knew how to resolve their guilt.

God wants far better for your life than that. You don’t want to live with guilt. And here’s an important truth to always hang on to: You don’t have to.

Instead, God wants you to live with a sense of promise and hope. He can even bring good out of the foolish decisions that you’ve made if you’ll give those failures to him.

How do you do that?

Admit to God you’ve made a mistake. It doesn’t surprise him. And it won’t change his perception of you. When you take this step, here’s what you can expect from him:

God forgives instantly. The very moment you admit your sin to God, he forgives you.

God forgives freely. You don’t need to earn it, and you’ll never deserve it.

God forgives completely. He wipes your sin absolutely clean.

The Bible promises that a “man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB).

If you’re mired in guilt and shame, then you’ll likely perpetuate whatever problem you have. You’ll tell yourself that you blew it, so you’re bad. Since you’re bad, you believe you’ll blow it again. It’s a nasty cycle we often can’t seem to escape from—at least not on our own.

You need a power beyond yourself. You need a Savior! You need to let go of your guilt and live in the freedom of God’s forgiveness.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do.”  Ephesians 5:15 (Phillips)

You and I have a variety of great abilities. For some of us it’s the ability to do math; for others it’s the ability to fix computers or to sew. We all have abilities—even if at times we need others to point them out to us.

But do you know what one of your greatest abilities is?

Responsibility.

Responsibility is your ability to respond to life. It’s what makes you human, and it’s a gift from God. Much of your life hasn’t been in your control. You didn’t choose where you would be born. You didn’t choose who your parents would be or how they would raise you. You didn’t choose the unique gifts and talents you would bring into the world.

Responsibility is how you handle everything else. God has given you the freedom to respond to what comes your way. How you respond to what life throws at you impacts your life more than any other factor.

In fact, in many ways, life is a test of how we handle responsibility. We spend only a fraction of our lives on this side of eternity. God doesn’t care about our achievements while we’re here on earth. He cares about our character.

Our lives today are mere warm-up acts for what’s to come. God is testing your responsibility for what’s going to happen later on. God put you on this earth primarily for two reasons: to know him personally and to develop character.

We’ve seen a steep decrease in responsibility throughout our culture. Many in our world live by the motto, “I’m not responsible for anything. It’s not my fault.”

That view is in stark contrast with what the Bible says: “Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do” (Ephesians 5:15 Phillips).

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you know that he is the one who gives meaning in this life. You can live responsibly because you know you’re a steward of the life you’ve been given. Responsible people make the most of the life God has given them.

How will you use the life you’ve been given?

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“When the foundations of life are undermined, what can a righteous person do?”  Psalm 11:3 (GW)

What we believe about the world around us shapes everything about our lives. Why? Because what you believe determines your behavior. Your behavior then determines what you become, and that has a direct effect on the direction of your life.

The same is true of a country or the world. They are largely shaped by the values we believe.

The problem is, we’ve bought into three very destructive philosophies that have replaced truth in our lives: Individualism is the lie that we’re the only standard for our lives. Secularism can be summarized in three words: God is unnecessary. And relativism is when we’re told that there are no absolutes—what’s true for you may not be true for me.

The Bible says, “When the foundations of life are undermined, what can a righteous person do?” (Psalm 11:3 GW).

What can we do about it?

We have to start with God. He embodies truth. What is right and wrong gets its meaning in the character of God himself. Dishonesty is wrong because God is honest. Unfaithfulness is wrong because God is faithful. You can know truth by looking at how God interacts with us.

The Bible says, “[God] shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time” (Proverbs 2:9 TLB). We can know the character of God through his Word. The Bible tells us what’s true, whether or not we like what it says.

Once we encounter truth—God’s truth—we’ll recognize two key features of it every time we see it.

It’s universal. It applies to everyone. If it doesn’t apply to everyone, it’s not truth. It’s an opinion.

It’s unchanging. It won’t be moved by fads or fashions. Adultery was wrong 2,000 years ago, it’s wrong today, and it will be wrong 4,000 years from today.

Our world today gives us three options for how to discover truth: We can choose to base our morality on what we think, on what other people think, or on what God thinks. The choice is ours.

When you build your life on absolute, universal, unchanging truth, you won’t stumble so much, because you’ll always have a firm foundation and an unshakable God determining your path.

 “Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the LORD will be joyful” (Proverbs 16:20 NLT).

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Encourage one another and help one another.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11 (GNT)

The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Encourage one another and help one another” (GNT). God wants you to use your own experiences to build up, motivate, and inspire other people. How do you do that? You can do it three ways: You can give people hope, you can help people overcome their fears, and you can help people break through barriers.

First, you can give people hope. Your experiences show other people that they, too, can get through the same experiences. Through your story, you give other people hope.

When you share your experiences with other people, you help them overcome their fears. It’s like riding a roller coaster. When you’re waiting in line for a huge roller coaster, you think, “Is this a smart decision?” Then the person in front of you turns around and says, “This is a great ride. I’ve been on it five times.” So you think, “Okay, I’m going to live. He’s done it five times. It’s got to be okay.” Hearing from someone who’s already gone through it is an inspiration. It’s motivational.

How many first-time parents feel scared to death, unprepared, and inadequate? All of them! How grateful they are for somebody who comes along and says, “Babies cry. It’s okay. This is normal.” The fears that they’re experiencing don’t seem so daunting when others share with them their experiences and how they came through them. It gives them hope!

You also help people break through barriers when you motivate them with your own experience. In 1954, Roger Bannister was the first man to run a four-minute mile. Before he did it, everybody said it was impossible—no one could run that fast. Yet within a year or so after Bannister broke that barrier, a dozen other guys also had passed the four-minute mark. All of a sudden, people realized it wasn’t impossible, and it gave them hope that they could do it too.

You have experiences in your life that could be barrier-busting, inspirational, and motivational to other people—but only if you’re willing to share them. This is one way you can encourage others and give them hope.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.”  2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)

An unexamined experience is worthless.

There are people who are 50 years old who haven’t lived 50 years. They’ve lived one year 50 times. They’re still making the same mistakes because they never stop and extract the lessons. They never stop to ask, “What happened in this last year, and what can I do differently so that I am living life better?”

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith” (NLT).

What does that mean? It means you take some time to review the experiences of your life, and you look for two things:

Look for benefits. What did you really enjoy in your life? Don’t just say, “I really enjoyed that job.” Ask, “What was it about that job that I really loved?” Don’t just say, “I really liked that class.” Ask, “What exactly about that class did I like? Why was it so fulfilling to me?” You’ll get little clues about where you should be headed with your life.

Look for patterns. Particularly, you want to look for patterns in your failure. When you fail, you tend to do it the same way every time. So you look and say, “Where have I failed in the past? What patterns do I keep repeating?” You don’t look at it to beat yourself up but because you want to be different. Those who ignore the mistakes of their past are likely to repeat them. This was the problem with the Israelites. Their trip to the Promised Land should have taken only a few weeks, not 40 years. But they refused to learn from their experiences and God’s tests. Each failed test meant one more lap around the desert.

The Bible says in Job 32:7, “The longer you live, the wiser you become” (MSG). That verse is a possibility, not a promise. I know a lot of people who are old and dumb. Wisdom does not automatically come with age. Maturity happens when you extract meaning from the everyday experiences of life and as you begin to apply biblical wisdom to the way you live each day.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him.”  Deuteronomy 11:2 (GNT)

Do you want God to use your past for good? Then you have to embrace the experiences of your life—the good ones, the bad ones, the shameful ones, the right ones, the wrong ones, the happy ones, and the sad ones—and stop running from your past.

Galatians 3:4 says, “Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not!” (NCV).

Don’t run away from your past! Because of pain, many people deny their past, ignore their past, discount their past, regret their past, or resent their past. They revise their past and make up stories because they’re happier dealing with a lie than the pain of the past. But when you’re in denial, God can’t use your experiences for good.

God can use every experience in your life for good, but you’ve got to stop running from them; you have to embrace them. Maybe your parents weren’t very loving, maybe you weren’t that great in school, maybe you weren’t the football captain or the prom queen. So what? They’re your experiences. Own them.

Stop pushing the bad experiences out of your mind. Instead, you’ve got to remember them. Deuteronomy 11:2 says, “Remember today what you have learned about the LORD through your experiences with him” (GNT).

In other words, remember the lessons your experiences have taught you. How do you do that? The best way to remember the lessons and experiences of your life is to keep a journal. I’m not talking about a diary. A diary is a daily list of what you did: “Today I went to the store and bought milk.” With a journal, you don’t necessarily write in it every day. But every time you have an important lesson, you write it down so you won’t forget it: “That was painful. I learned that the hard way. I don’t want to forget that.”

To remember what you’ve learned about God, keep a journal. Then you can look back and remember what God taught you. In the dark times of your life, you can be encouraged and know that God is still working for your good.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.”  Colossians 3:23 (GNT)

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NLT).

As we’ve learned, God expects every one of us to mature in all of these areas. But he also knows each one of us tends to lead in one area. This means God has shaped you to most naturally be a talker (heart), feeler (soul), thinker (mind), or doer (strength).

Today we’re going to focus on loving God with all your strength.

Doers love God with their strength. They’re energetic activists—the achievers, the accomplishers, the workers. They push things forward and make things happen in practical ways.

Doers are here because the world needs contribution—and doers can get the job done! They have initiative, energy, action, and a drive to achieve. In a practical sense, they often serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.

But we all have flaws, and for doers, it’s overwork. Most doers are always working. They have trouble stopping to think or feel because they’re always busy!

Psalm 127:2 says, “It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?” (MSG). If you’re a doer, consider putting that verse on the mirror in your bathroom. God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.

As I mentioned a few days ago, when you become a believer, your past is forgiven, you have a reason for living, and you have a home in heaven. But there’s something that doesn’t change when you come to Christ: your personality. God doesn’t slow a doer down when you come to him—he simply changes your direction. He wants to empower you.

Colossians 3:23 has great advice for doers: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people” (GNT).

If God made you a doer, then he wants to use you to get stuff done in the world. But you’re not meant to do it all, and you should never try to do it in your own strength.

It’s okay sometimes to do less—not less for God, but less in other areas so you’ll have more time to do what matters most.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  James 1:22 (NIV)

Yesterday, we looked at Mark 12:30: “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT). One way to look at this verse is to focus on loving God with all your talk, all your feelings, all your thinking, and all your acting. God shaped you to be primarily a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer.

Talkers love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Did you know that you can also love God with your intellect? Thinkers love God with their minds. When you’re developing and strengthening your mind, it is an act of worship.

Thinkers love Bible study. Psalm 119:97 says, “How I love your law! I think about it all day long” (GNT).

People who are thinkers fall in love with the Bible when they become believers. There is no other book in the world like it! It has the answers to life’s questions, including: Why am I here? Where am I going? What is the purpose of life? Does my life matter? What’s the past? What’s the future? Where did I come from?

We need thinkers because the world needs consideration. Somebody has to be thinking through complex issues and the implications of what the rest of us are doing. We need people who think through tough problems and bring solutions to the table. That’s why we need scientists, writers, philosophers, and innovators.

But thinkers have to be careful to practice humility. The Bible says, “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom” (Proverbs 3:7 NLT). Why? Because God is God, and you’re not.

Humility is a choice. Not once in the Bible are you ever told to pray for God to humble you. It says to “humble yourself before the Lord.” It’s a choice. Humility is something you do to yourself. Nobody else can do it to you. They can humiliate you, but they can’t make you humble. In essence, humility is total dependence on God. It’s not denying your strengths; it’s being honest about your weaknesses.

Thinkers also need to be careful to practice what they know. If you know it, then do it! James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (NIV).

God’s Word is our manual for life; he wants us to use it to learn how to do things his way. He’s our Creator, and he knows the best way we should live. And we can count on this: God is always right there with us, helping us to follow his instructions.