Have God Esteem & Keep Growing

****Victoria Osteen****
Have God-Esteem

1. Proverbs 18:14 NLT....The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?
   The bible says that the spirit of a man sustains the man. Your spirit is constantly trying to change you and that's why you have to be careful of what you let get stuck in your head.
2. Hebrews 4:16 NLT...So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
   When you go boldly before someone it's a reflection of what you think about that person. You trust that person and respect their admonishment.
3. Acts 13:22 NIV...After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
   David was a man after God's on heart but he wasn't perfect. He was confident in God and took time to meditate on God.
4. Romans 14:22-23 NIV So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
   As long as you don't condemn yourselfyourself you can ask God for anything.
5. When your perspective changes then everything Looks different.

*****Joel Osteen*****
Keep Growing

• You Have to take responsibility for your own growth. You can't coast through life on what you already know. 50% of the people who graduate high school will never read another a book.
• I Have a responsibility to myself, to my family, and to God to develop my hidden treasures. I Have tooin much in me to not be proactiveproactive.
• Pablo Casals continued to practice guys cello for 5 hours daily well into his eighties so that he could continue to get better.
  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Casals
• The Tale of 2 Lumberjacks
  Two lumberjacks, a younger one and an older one, raced to see who could cut down the most trees in a single day. At the end of the day the winner was obvious. The older lumberjack had won. The younger man could not believe it!"How could you have cut down more trees than I did?" he asked. "Every hour you sat down while I kept right on cutting. I don't understand. How could you have cut more trees while sitting so much?""When I sat down, I was sharpening my axe," the older lumberjack said. "Why didn't you stop to sharpen your axe?" "I didn't have time," the younger man said. "I was too busy cutting!"This story reminds us that in order to be an effective servant, to make our lives count for Christ, we should take time regularly to "sharpen" our lives.
• If you sharpen your skills you may not Have to work as hard.
• God has shifted things in my favor and it's up to me to be prepared.
• David was a shepherd: He had a minimum wage job and no friends. David's brothers were in the army: they had Huigh praying jobs. David could have drowned in self pity but instead he took time to work on his skills and become a skilled marksman devoted to his flock and when God needed someone to kill a giant, David was ready!
• Proverbs 18:16 NIV...A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.
• Don't use your position as an excuse to slack off: Proverbs 22:29 NIV...Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.
• Joseph in the Bible is a good example. He didn't wait until he was at the top he started from the bottom.
  After many setbacks, Joseph learned humility and wisdom. He was a hard worker, even while a slave. Joseph loved his family and forgave terrible wrongs done to him.
  The account of Joseph in the Bible is found in Genesis chapters 30-50. 
• Never present only a problem. Don't have destination disease.
• People won't always care who the popular kids and athletes were.
• Use the time that you have wisely: you can use your drive time, workout time, waiting time, and etc to grow. During your downtime read the Bible, listen to the Bible, read a book, take an online course, and etc.
• Be careful of who you spend time with.
  Who you associate with matters.

Joel Likes To Start With Something Funny...

A young girl is standing on a street corner, preaching about God to whoever will listen. A businessman stops to listen, and can't believe what he's hearing.Finally, he interrupts the girl and says, "Excuse me, but are you saying that EVERYTHING in the Bible is true?"The girl responds, "Why, yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."He says, "So you're saying that the story of Jonah and the big fish is a true story?"The girl says, "Yes, that's what I'm saying."He says, "Okay, so tell me how Jonah could survive for three days inside of a big fish!"The girl thinks for a moment, then says, "Well...I'm not sure. But when I get to Heaven, I'll ask him."He says, "But what if Jonah went to hell?"The girl says, "Then you can ask him!"