When you face difficult times, know that challenges are not sent to destroy you. They're sent to promote, increase and strengthen you.
— Joel Osteen
People are skeptical of many televangelists, and I'm sensitive to that.
We live in a day that nobody's lived in before: where you can touch more people. The message I'll speak tonight and the message that I speak at home, people in India will hear. It's just an amazing day.
Many times, we miss out on God's best because we give up too soon. We don't realize how close we are to victory.
I'm healthy as can be - not an ache or a pain. A lot of my prayer is thanking the Lord that I am healthy. I pray for long life and good health.
There's plenty about God that I don't understand and can't explain. But I come back to my core belief that God is good, that He's for us.
The question is not, 'Do you have a problem?' The question is, 'Does the problem have you?'
I'm not a big believer in trying to jam stuff down somebody's throat: 'You're going to do it my way.' I'd rather show by example and live my life and have people say, 'You know what, I want to live like Joel has. He's got peace and joy, and he seems content.'
Don't ever criticize yourself. Don't go around all day long thinking, 'I'm unattractive, I'm slow, I'm not as smart as my brother.' God wasn't having a bad day when he made you... If you don't love yourself in the right way, you can't love your neighbour. You can't be as good as you are supposed to be.
A disagreement or incident involving someone who's not that important to you, like a guy who cut you off in traffic or a rude cashier, is something that should roll off your shoulders. Save the effort for resolving conflicts with the people you cherish.
The truth is, somebody is always talking about you, so you have to let it go... if it's not a part of your God-given destiny.
Don't grow accustomed to living with less, doing less, and being less to the point that you eventually sit back and accept it.
Just because something didn't work out your way, or somebody disappointed you, that does not change who you are.
God puts people in our lives on purpose so we can help them succeed and help them become all He created them to be. Most people will not reach their full potential without somebody else believing in them.
If you are against yourself, you will never reach your highest potential. And when you criticize yourself, you're criticizing God.
Isn't it funny how babies laugh a lot? I read a toddler, a young child laughs 300 times a day. The average adult laughs, like, four times a day. God put it in them. He put the laugh in us, but I think sometimes we let life get us down, you know, have bad breaks, and we lose our breaks.
God's got you in the palm of His hand. You won't leave one second before your time. If God wants you to be here, then you're going to be here.
Christmas is the perfect time to celebrate the love of God and family and to create memories that will last forever. Jesus is God's perfect, indescribable gift. The amazing thing is that not only are we able to receive this gift, but we are able to share it with others on Christmas and every other day of the year.
I do know this... I seem to reach a lot of previously unchurched people. So many people have told me they never went to church until they heard our message of hope that God is a good God who desires to bless those who are faithful and obedient to Him through Jesus Christ.
Every day is a gift from God. There's no guarantee of tomorrow, so that tells me to see the good in this day to make the most of it.
You are victors, not victims!
I really believed that fear is contagious.
I think that God gives you your own will and choices. I don't believe that we're supposed to drag ourselves through life defeated and not see God's blessings. But you have to make the right choices and follow that still, small voice within you. Because I think that's how God leads us.
God wants you to be a winner, not a whiner.
My friends and I had fun together, but I was more reserved, not at all the life of the party. I would just be the quiet one in the room.
I believe God wants you to have money to pay your bills, send your kids to college and do charity work and build orphanages. There's the teaching that we're supposed to be poor to show that we're humble. I don't buy that. I think we're supposed to be leaders. We're supposed to excel.
Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. But what you're doing when you indulge these negative emotions is giving something outside yourself power over your happiness. You can choose to not let little things upset you.
You're not better than anybody else, but you're not less than anybody else. You're a child of the Most High God.
Indeed, it is as important to learn how to receive a blessing as it is to be willing to give one.
Friend, there's no greater investment in life than in being a people builder. Relationships are more important than our accomplishments.
If we're going to bring out the best in people, we, too, need to sow seeds of encouragement.
If you don't set the tone for the day, the devil will set it for you.
I try to live what I teach. A lot of things come against us in life, but we should try to find something to be grateful for, and see each day as a gift.
Let go of offence. Let go of fear. Let go of revenge. Don't live angry, let go now!
Whether a person is straight or gay, Republican, Democrat, good person, not a good person, they're all welcome, because to me, church is a place you're supposed to get healed and whole and loved.
I think faith is incredibly important because you will become overwhelmed with what's happening and you will have waves of grief, but when you turn to your faith, I believe God will give you waves of grace to get through it.
Faith is easy; I think people complicate it.
I think, for years, people have been pushed down by religion, and I don't say that disrespectfully, but they've been shown a God that you can't measure up to.
Encouragement to others is something everyone can give. Somebody needs what you have to give. It may not be your money; it may be your time. It may be your listening ear. It may be your arms to encourage. It may be your smile to uplift. Who knows?
When my dad founded our church, he used either a globe or a map of the world behind him. It was symbolic of what Christ said: to go forth and preach hope to the world. We believe in the cross, but we just continued with the globe.
Yes, the Bible should be taught in our schools because it is necessary to understand the Bible if we are to truly understand our own culture and how it came to be. The Bible has influenced every part of western culture from our art, music, and history, to our sense of fairness, charity, and business.
In my early teens, I knew I wanted to do television production. I loved cameras, editing and producing, anything that had to do with television production. My friend had a production studio across town, and we'd go over there at night and shoot and edit. I produced my father's televised service for 17 years.
We live in a culture that relishes tearing others down. It's ultimately more fulfilling, though, to help people reach their goals. Instead of feeling jealous, remember: If God did it for them, He can do it for you.
Sometimes God will deliver you from the fire, and other times God will make you fireproof.
You have enough people against you... be for yourself.
If one dream dies, dream another dream. If you get knocked down, get back up and go again.
When people are around us, they should leave better off than they were previously. Rather than feeling discouraged or defeated, people should feel challenged and inspired after spending any time with you and me.
God made you a masterpiece - be blessed, secure, disciplined and equipped.
It seems like when I was growing up there was more compromise, wanting to work with each other, and I think all of them - all of the lawmakers - have hearts to do what's right, and they all are passionate about it.
Everybody is going to have their critics. It's easy to get discouraged in life.
