"In solitude, struggles occur that no one else knows about. Inner battles are fought here that seldom become fodder for sermons or illustrations for books. God, who probes our deepest thoughts during protracted segments of solitude, opens our eyes to things that need attention. It is here He makes us aware of those things we try to hide from others."

"Fortunately Jesus didn't leave [the disciples] - or any of us - without hope or direction. Where we fail, Jesus succeeded. The only One who as able to recognize and follow His purpose from the beginning was Jesus. He alone was able to obey consistently and please God completely. And His divine mission was to make a way for each of us to do the same."

"The Promised Land was a tangible representation of God's ultimate desire for His people, but they failed to comprehend His gift for at least three reasons: It was unconditionally promised, it was outrageously generous, and it was absolutely free. None of those make sense in the world as we know it."

"Faith itself cannot accomplish anything, yet without faith, no one can fly."

"How important is the heart! It is there that character is formed. It alone holds the secrets of true success."

"Believe me, once you have tasted worship - the kind of worship that captures your heart and rivets your full attention on the living Lord - nothing less satisfies. Nothing else even comes close. Once you have tasted true worship, you will never want to play church again."

"Ask yourself, 'Who's getting the glory in this ministry?' You see, if we do ministry OUR way, it won't be for His glory, because our ways are not His ways."

"Peter's destiny lay along a different path from John's. And your calling is unlike anyone else's. But the call remains the same: 'Follow Me!"

"It is easy for Christians to have the false impression that once we have established a relationship with Christ, which we believe sets us right with God, the problems of life will somehow scoot away or they will slowly be removed from our lives."

"In many (most?) churches there are programs and activities... but so little worship. There are songs and anthems and musicals... but so little worship. There are announcements and readings and prayers... but so little worship."

"Jesus has prepared the way and has made following our destiny possible, whereas we are helpless by ourselves. We can find and fulfill our purpose by responding to the clear, simple call of Jesus Christ: 'Follow Me.' He is the doorway to fulfilling our destiny, where our divine design and God - ordained purpose live in perfect harmony."

"After Peter came to recognize his own inadequacy, his utter inability to fulfill his destiny apart from obedience to his only true responsibility, he became a rock - solid leader. As his story unfolds in the book of acts, we can clearly see that when Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and followed Him, others followed to. And they followed by the thousands. Needed today: more Peters."

"Elizabeth's barreness and advanced age - a double symbol of hopelessness - became the means by which God would announce to the world that nothing is impossible for Him."

"I am often the brunt of my own humor."

"What's God saying to you now? 'All things are possible to him who worries?' No. 'All things are possible to him who attempts to work it out?' No. 'All things are possible to him who believes. - Man to Man: Chuck Swindoll Selects His Most Significant Writings for Men"

"While God, for the most part, allows this cosmos [creation] to work according to the laws of nature, there is never a time when He is not actively involved in every detail of life."

"When we panic, we instinctively turn to our own internal resources because we doubt Him."

"You and I are, by birth, by nature, and by choice, inwardly depraved, which is to say that we are entirely corrupt. That's not to say that we have no good in us; we do. However, anything good in us has been tainted with evil. It touches everything. Without the redeeming power of Christ we cannot halt our own moral slide."

"If you allow it, [suffering] can be the means by which God brings you His greatest blessings."

"God never asked us to meet life's pressures and demands on our own terms or by relying upon our own strength. Nor did He demands that we win His favor by assembling an impressive portfolio of good deeds. Instead, He invites us to enter His rest."

"Every achievement worth remembering is stained with the blood of diligence and scarred by the wounds of disappointment"

"Goals not bathed in prayer or brought in humility before the Lord turn out to be downright useless. They don't go anywhere. They don't accomplish anything."

"When I think of vision, I have in mind the ability to see above and beyond the majority."

"The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast, the pangs of life will sting for a while longer, but don't worry; the forces of evil are breathing their last. Not to worry...He's risen!"

"God has called His creation to find satisfaction in a personal relationship with Him, and stop trying to manage the world by conforming it to our expectations, and to allow Him to govern His creation. He continues to say through an ancient Hebrew worship song, 'Be still and know that I am God!"

"Grace has to be the loveliest word in the English language. It embodies almost every attractive quality we hope to find in others. Grace is a gift of the humble to the humiliated. Grace acknowledges the ugliness of sin by choosing to see beyond it. Grace accepts a person as someone worthy of kindness despite whatever grime or hard - shell casing keeps him or her separated from the rest of the world. Grace is a gift of tender mercy when it makes the least sense."

"Your call will become clear as as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God's Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns from diverting your attention."

"We can't solve modern problems by going back in time. Retreating to the safety of the familiar is an understandable response, but God has called us to a life of faith. And faith requires us to face the unknown while trusting Him completely."

"The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it's a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free."

"I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun."

"The ministry of the church is a genuine concern for others. We need to stop talking about it and start doing it. Rise.Rise and shine, friend. Everyone you meet today is on heaven's Most Wanted list."

"Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children."

"Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it."

"Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill."

"The matters we or the world might consider trivial, He cares about and wants to remedy. He longs to relieve our worries and has promised to supply our most fundamental needs."

"Deep, contended joy comes from a place of complete security and confidence [in God] - even in the midst of trial."

"Anything under God's control is never out of control."

"At least one indication of unbelief is the tendency to measure life's challenges against our own adequacy instead of God's promises. To enter our Sabbath rest, we must put an end to self - reliance - trusting in our own abilities to overcome difficulties, rise above challenges, escape tragedies, or achieve personal greatness."

"Hope doesn't require a massive chain where heavy links of logic hold it together. A thin wire will do...just strong enough to get us through the night until the winds die down."

"God doesn't work on our timetable. He has a plan that He will execute perfectly and for the highest, greatest good of all, and for His ultimate glory."

"[Jesus] tilted His head back, pulled up one last time to draw breath and cried, 'Tetelestai!' It was a Greek expression most everyone present would have understood. It was an accounting term. Archaeologists have found papyrus tax receipts with 'Tetelestai' written across them, meaning 'paid in full.' With Jesus' last breath on the cross, He declared the debt of sin cancelled, completely satisfied. Nothing else required. Not good deeds. Not generous donations. Not penance or confession or baptism or...or...or...nothing. The penalty for sin is death, and we were all born hopelessly in debt. He paid our debt in full by giving His life so that we might live forever."

"The swift wind of compromise is a lot more devastating than the sudden jolt of misfortune."