Visioneering: God's Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Vision
By: Andy Stanley

Buy Now

We all make mistakes – mistakes that we regret, and mistakes that we never seem to let go. And forgiving ourselves can be difficult. Guilt caused David to cry out, "I know about my sins, and I cannot forget my terrible guilt” (Contemporary English Version, Psalm 51:3).

Many people spend their lives trying to become someone that they hope to be — as opposed to the person that they actually are. But contentment (peace of mind; mental and emotional satisfaction) only comes when we stay and flourish in our assigned lane.

Do you know that sometimes the Holy Spirit will tell us things that we're not supposed to share? For example, we might discern something "less than positive" about someone — but it would be unwise for us to share that information with them (or other people).

No one is perfect. At some point we've all hurt someone; we’ve all made foolish decisions; we've all told lies; and we've all had bad thoughts. The fact is — for the rest of our earthly lives — we‘ll have to crucify our ungodly desires on a daily basis. Our sinful nature never goes away; we simply become better at dominating it.

It's human nature for us to desire a shoulder to lean on. But when that shoulder belongs to another human being, we are bound to be disappointed.

On December 4, 1956, TIME magazine featured an article on Everet Storms; a school teacher and Bible student living in Kitchener, Ontario, who counted how many promises there were in the Bible. During his 27th reading of the Word, he concluded that there were 7,487 biblical promises made by God to mankind.

Confidence is something that many women struggle with — even women in ministry. No matter their age, level of success, educational attainment, and beauty — countless women question their worth.

Every appealing opportunity is not from God. The devil can – and will – send "ministerial" opportunities, high profile relationships, and money making ideas that God never intended for you.

It's common for people to proudly boast that they are finally becoming their "true selves." In the Kingdom of God, however, maturity is measured by the extent to which we become less of ourselves, and more like Christ. He is our identity.