Rick Warren Quotes

True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.

We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.

The more you pray, the less you'll panic. The more you worship, the less you worry. You'll feel more patient and less pressured.

You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense.

Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.

God sometimes removes a person from your life for your protection. Don't run after them.

Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you. Don’t waste your pain; use it to help others.

Trusting God completely means having faith that He knows what is best for your life. You expect Him to keep His promises, help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary.

Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

God intentionally allows you to go through painful experiences to equip you for ministry to others.

Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. It is not enough to just say relationships are important; we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless. "My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action." Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is "T-I-M-E.

Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others.

You weren't put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity.

You cannot fulfil God's purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.

The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve.

Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven!

If you want God to bless you and use you greatly, you must be willing to walk with a limp the rest of your life, because God uses weak people.

Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it.

If you have felt hopeless, hold on! Wonderful changes are going to happen in your life as you begin to live it on purpose.

A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.

It’s not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.

Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past. Listen: those who hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past is past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it, and then let it go.

We’re not completely happy here because we’re not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.

If you prayed as much as you complain and quarrel, you'd have a lot less to argue about and much more peace of mind.

Life is a gift... Life is a test... Life is temporary assignment....

Because God is with you all the time, no place is any closer to God than the place where you are right now.

Life minus love equals zero.

Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment.

If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God and if you fail to worship Him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose, what you surrender to but you are not free from the consequence of that choice.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD Difficult moments, SEEK GOD Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD Painful moments, TRUST GOD Every moment, THANK GOD

Being successful and fulfilling your lifes purpose are not at all the same thing; You can reach all your personal goals, become a raving success by the worlds standard and still miss your purpose in this life.

The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.

Your value is not determined by your valuables, and God says the most valuable things in life are not things!

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don't think of themselves.

Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.

Frankness is not a license to say anything you want, wherever and whenever you want. It is not rudeness.

Measured against eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye, but the consequences of it will last forever.

Relationships are always worth restoring.

The purpose of influence is to "speak up for those who have no influence." (Pr.31:8) It's not about you.

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test... You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies.

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don’t edge others out, you don’t demand your rights, and you aren’t self-serving when you’re surrendered.

The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it – that’s how we learn.

Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions.

God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do. Attitudes count more than achievements.

If you have ever said, "I didn't get anything out of worship today," you worshiped for the wrong reason. Worship isn't for you. It's for God.

The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.

we are product of our past but we don't have to be prisoners of it.

Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy.

If you are a member of a small group or class, I urge you to make a group covenant that includes the nine characteristics of biblical fellowship: We will share our true feelings (authenticity), forgive each other (mercy), speak the truth in love (honesty), admit our weaknesses (humility), respect our differences (courtesy), not gossip (confidentiality), and make group a priority (frequency).

Surrender . . .sacrificing my life or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed

God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

Familiarity breeds complacency.

The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.

If God only used perfect people, nohting would get done. God will use anybody if you're available.

As long as you do things for God, you are a Hall of Famer in heaven's list.

Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren't rubbed in but rubbed out. Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice.

You are as close to God as you choose to be.

At first opposites attract. Then opposites attack.

While it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others.

The key to friendship with God, he said, is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do.

You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time.

We are healed to help others. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are saved to serve, not to sit around and wait for heaven.

When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.

Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day.

The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose.

Then Jesus changed the situation. When he paid for our sins on the cross, the veil in the temple that symbolized our separation from God was split from top to bottom, indicating that direct access to God was once again available.

Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.

God never does anything accidentally...

You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

It is a fatal mistake to assume that God’s goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns.

You can use your time to build bridges or walls. The latter is not only unChristlike, it limits impact & creates loneliness.

Maturity is produced through relationships and community.

The deepest level of worship is praising God inspite of pain, trusting Him during a trial, surrendering while suffering, and loving Him when He seems distant.

You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.

When God wants to make a mushroom, he does it overnight, but when He wants to make a giant oak, He takes a hundred years. Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering. Be patient with the process.

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.

Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.

Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom, and power.Life just has to go on!

There's a Grand Designer behind everything. Your life is not a result of random chance, fate, or luck. There is a master plan. History is His story. God is pulling the strings.

You can't grow strong without resistance.

the moment you stop learning, you stop leading.

Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be.

God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time.

Knowing your purpose motivates your life.

Love should be your top priority, primary objective, and greatest ambition. Love is not a good part of your life; it’s the most important part. The Bible says, “Let love be your greatest aim.

The books that have helped me most are the ones I reacted to, not just read

You must begin with God.

In all my travels, I've never seen a country's population more determined to forgive, and to build and succeed than in Rwanda.

Your wisest moments will be those when you say yes to God.

We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be!

You didn't create yourself, so there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for.

Grief is a good thing. It's the way we get through the transitions of life.

You're only as sick as your secrets.

The way you see your life shapes your life.

When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that’s called worry. When you think about God’s Word over and over in your mind, that’s meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate!

Hiding your hurt only intensifies it. Problems grow in the dark and become bigger and bigger, but when exposed to the light of truth, they shrink. You are only as sick as your secrets. So take off your mask, stop pretending you’re perfect, and walk into freedom.

The New testament commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each other, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each other's burdens, forgive each other, submit to each other, be devoted each other, and many other mutual tasks. This is biblical membership!

Unfortunately, we forget the cruel details of the agonizing sacrifice God made on our behalf. Familiarity breeds complacency. Even before his crucifixion, the Son of God was stripped naked, beaten until almost unrecognizable, whipped, scorned and mocked, crowned with thorns, and spit on contemptuously. Abused and ridiculed by heartless men, he was treated worse than an animal. Then, nearly unconscious fromblood loss, he was forced to drag a cumbersome cross up a hill, was nailed to it, and was left to die the slow, excruciating torture of death by crucifixion. While his lifeblood drained out, hecklers stood by and shouted insults, making fun of his pain and challenging his claim to be God.