I've been thrilled to recieve and read an advanced copy of Mark Batterson's newest book "The Circle Maker," now out and already a New York Times bestseller. I have read almost all his books now, and love his blog. Here is an excerpt I had to share with you ...

"The Bible tells us that the Lord is watching over His word to perform it. There is nothing God loves more than keeping His promises. He is actively watching and waiting for us to simply take Him at his word. He is watching over Matthew 18:18. He is watching over Isaiah 59:21. He is watching over Luke 7:23. He is watching over each and every promise, and if that doesn't fill you with holy confidence, nothing will. 

I think I got the joy of gift giving from my mom. I also picke up a little idiosyncrasy. Typically, children beg their parents to open gifts before the designated date, whether it is birthday or Christmas. Not in my family. My mom used to beg me to open my gifts before the designated day because she could hardly wait to give them. And now I do with our kids what she did with me. Parents begging their children to open their gifts early may seem a little dysfunctional, but this is the heart of our heavenly Father. He can hardly wait to keep His promises. He can hardly wait to perform His word. He can hardly wait to answer our prayers. And when we simply take Him at His word, He can hardly contain His joy. 

My favorite sentence in the twenty-third Psalm is this: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." The word follow isn't a strong enough illustration. It's a hunting term in Hebrew. It's like God is hunting you down - but not to harm you; God is hunting you down to bless you. He wants to show you His goodness and His mercy, but too often we run away from it. Why? Because we doubt His good intentions. We can't believe that God is for us. This is why God reminds us so many different times in many different ways and with many different words." (p. 100-101).

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