Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – Progress depends on human choices and human courage. (Michael J. Gerson, speech-writer and author)

A lot of events and people must be involved in creating the future. It’s not happenstance, and it isn’t fate. As Gerson says, human involvement is required to determine how things will work out in the unknown days ahead. So much depends on making choices—good choices. And, having made them, courageously pursuing their fulfillment is the sure path to success.

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.” (Joshua 10:25)

STOP AND THINK – Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you . . .  you will be neither successful nor happy. (Napoleon Hill, American author of the New Thought movement)

Hill adds that you will not be happy, “… until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others.” Respecting others and valuing their worth are necessary to understanding who they are and building a meaningful relationship.

Give to everyone what you owe them: . . . if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor (Romans 13:7). Show proper respect to everyone (1 Peter 2:17).

STOP AND THINK – When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless. (Chris Colfer, actor, singer, and author)

You have probably run into someone who “rubbed you the wrong way.” People hurt people with words and innuendo maybe more than by physical mistreatment. How do we respond to such verbal abuse? Words do hurt, but Colfer’s advice is helpful. If you can respond quietly and without anger, you’ll recover quickly and the offending person will likely hurt more.

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. . . . Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. (Luke 6:28, 30)

STOP AND THINK – Never judge reality by your own limited experiences. (Robert Schuller, televangelist and author)

People are inclined to think that their personal experiences represent the totality of reality. How they respond to a given situation is how they think everybody would feel. However, people rarely react the same even in similar circumstances. Life is more than your own experience. Broaden your horizons by observing reality all around you.

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? (1 Corinthians 2:11)

STOP AND THINK – Be someone for somebody. (Mother Teresa)

No one wants to live in isolation. Though some are less gregarious than others, still they profit from some relationships even if they are few and infrequent. But, for those who are isolated because of disease, poverty, or unjust discrimination, there needs to be someone who will recognize their worth as created in the image of God and move toward helping them.

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right (James 2:8). Blessed is the one who is kind to the needy (Proverbs 14:21).

STOP AND THINK – If you are not using what you already have, you won’t use what you think you need. (Ken Duncan, Australian professional photographer)

We are often tempted to say, “If I only had (fill in the blank), I could do ….” But the question, as Duncan points out, is “Are you using what you already have?” Chances are that when we don’t adequately use what we already have, we probably wouldn’t do any better with anything more. Use what you have now in the best way possible.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)

STOP AND THINK – Life is a series of choices between the bad, the good, and the best. Everything depends on how we choose. (Vance Havner, 20^th century evangelist)

Many people don’t have a lot of trouble resisting what is bad for them, whether it’s a matter of diet, leisure activity, or business dealings. The enemy most often is not what is a bad choice, but settling for what is good, but not the best. We should work to improve at whatever we do—to be better at it, and strive for the best in everything we work at.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Temptations are everywhere. It’s your job to avoid them. (2 Minutes a day. 100 Devotionals)

It’s obvious, isn’t it? We are constantly faced, either directly or by innuendo, with opportunities to do wrong, to give in to baser emotions. Even magazine ads and TV commercials can tempt us to do something we know we shouldn’t. But whether it’s as simple as overeating or drinking too much or something more sinister, it’s always our choice.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

STOP AND THINK – Men are often thoughtless: “[They] will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present days.” (J. C Ryle, 19^th century Anglican bishop)

Speaking to young men, Ryle continued, “[They] wake up to find they are damned for a lack of thinking. Young men know little of the perils around [them], and so . . . are careless how [they] walk. We should not restrict those words to young men, because it seems that thinking is passé among men and women of all ages. And how we think determines how we live.

Apostle Peter: “I have written both of [my letters to you] as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. (2 Peter 3:1)

STOP AND THINK – Love is very much a matter of actions rather than emotions. (Jerry Bridges, Christian author)

In a world flooded with songs, movies, and stories of love, it’s really hard to understand what genuine love is. Many times it is identified with lust or eroticism. Other times it is regarded merely as an emotion—something that fosters the idea of “listening to your heart, not your mind.” But real love is thoughtful, unselfish, and results in actions that benefit the one loved.

We should love one another . . . let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:11, 18)

STOP AND THINK – Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor; Character makes you happy or makes you miserable. (William Hershey Davis, Greek language author)

Davis’ comparisons are thought-provoking. A worker with a good reputation may become wealthy, while an ineffective worker may not do well financially. But there’s more to life than financial gain and security. When you live a life of integrity, you can be happy, but the result of a life that displays dishonesty and untrustworthiness will bring only misery.

The man of integrity walks securely. (Proverbs 10:9)

STOP AND THINK – Discouraged people don’t need critics. They hurt enough already. They don’t need more guilt or piled-on distress. They need encouragement. (Charles Swindoll, pastor and author)

There are a lot of discouraged people in the world, aren’t there? The last thing they need is someone telling them to buck up, get with it, or stop complaining. When you are discouraged, what helps you? It’s not someone with a superior attitude that only adds to your despair. What helps most are encouraging words.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up. (1 Thessalonians 5:1)