God Can Use a Person Whose Heart Is Like This

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God Can Use a Person Whose Heart Is Like This By Craig Groeschel (Bible Gateway Blog) Years ago, I heard a pastor tell a story that I'll never forget. This seasoned preacher described how each week, after the Sunday service, he'd stand by the door of the church to greet people as they left for their cars. He described the joy of hugging the grandmas and high-fiving the younger kids week after week. The pastor admitted openly that he loved when his parishioners would praise his message, complimenting him on how God used him to speak to them. But then the pastor described an encounter he had with a guy ... Continue Reading Forgiveness: Pulling Out the Snake's Fang By Deborah Liu (Bible Gateway blog) On June 17, 2015, Polly Sheppard attended Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. That night, Dylann Roof, a self-professed white supremacist, arrived and spent an hour in the study with his victims before pulling out a gun during prayer time. In all, he shot 12 people, nine of whom lost their lives, including Emanuel AME pastor and State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney. Polly witnessed her friends being gunned down in front of her, and when Dylann reached her, she recalled him saying, "I'm not going to shoot you. I'm going to leave you here to tell the story." Dylann Roof wanted to start a race war that day. He chose Emanuel AME—also known as Mother Emanuel, the oldest AME church in the South—as the spark to ignite that war. But what he encountered was something wholly different.... Continue Reading Am I a Kingdom-Minded Leader? By Craig Groeschel (Bible Gateway blog) What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. —Albert Pike A while back, I bumped into an older lady who recognized me as the pastor of Life.Church. She explained that she was a member of another church in town. Although I didn't know her pastor well, I said that I'd heard a lot of great things about him. She responded, "Wow! I can't believe you're speaking well of the competition." Shocked, I explained that in no way did I view her church as a competitor. She shot back, "Well, your church is definitely our competition...." Continue Reading   - Looking for more? For more helpful articles, deal notices, and book samples, subscribe to one or more of the following email newsletters published by Zondervan Books: Faith in Action monthly newsletter Growth monthly newsletter Lives Transformed monthly newsletter Relationships monthly newsletter Boundaries weekly newsletter featuring content from Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, authors of the New York Times bestseller Boundaries. - Follow Zondervan Books for more!  This email was sent to mucomacamucomaca.muco@blogger.com by Bible Gateway, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA. This email is part of a devotional or newsletter that you signed up for on BibleGateway.com. If you have questions or comments about this email, please contact us.   Manage all Bible Gateway subscriptions — Opt Out of all Bible Gateway communication -