Cindy

“us to direct our hard questions to God. ·  “I thirst!” (John 19:28, ESV) teaches us the importance of acknowledging our needs. ·  “It is finished” (John 19:30) teaches us that in every struggle there is a purpose and an end. ·  “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46) teaches us to trust God.”
― John C. Maxwell, Jesus, The High Road Leader: Follow the Path He Wants Us to Travel

“If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The crowds who cheered Jesus on Sunday, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! (Luke 19:38), cried out on Friday, “Crucify him!” (John 19:15). And Jesus gave his life for them. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. After healing a group of lepers, Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to the one who returned, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:17-19). Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. Confiding in his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division” (Luke 12:51). The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. During the Last Supper, as Jesus told his disciples he would be betrayed, “A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest” (Luke 22:24). Jesus told them, “The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves” (Luke 22:26). People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway. When people brought children to Jesus to be blessed, his disciples tried to shoo them away. But Jesus said, “Let little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas came forward and kissed Jesus. “Then men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. . . . All the disciples deserted him and fled” (Matthew 26:50, 56). People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. After Jesus started his ministry, he went to the synagogue in his hometown to let them know he wanted to help them by reading from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Their response was to drive him out of town (Luke 4:29). Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway. Jesus stood innocently before the crowd that wanted to kill him. “‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ asked the governor. ‘Barabbas,’ they answered. ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’” (Matthew 27:21-22). If Jesus, in the face of such opposition and hatred, could love and trust people anyway, do good anyway, serve people anyway, build anyway, help people anyway, and give his best anyway, we can make the effort to do the right things for the right reasons every day. That is the best way to show Jesus that we love him and be salt and light in a world that feels like it’s getting darker.”
― John C. Maxwell, Jesus, The High Road Leader: Follow the Path He Wants Us to Travel

“The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:23-27, MSG)”
― John C. Maxwell, Jesus, The High Road Leader: Follow the Path He Wants Us to Travel

“Delight doesn’t require a journey thousands of miles away to taste the presence of God, but it does require a separation from the mundane, an intentional choice to enter joy and follow God as he celebrates the glory of his creation and his faithfulness to keep his covenant to redeem the captives.”
― Dan B. Allender, Sabbath: The Ancient Practices