Synonyms: thirstiness, dryness, parched, craving, strong desire, longing, yearning, avidity, hunger, voracity, keenness, eagerness, lust, appetite, passion, love, crave, want, covet, desire, hunger for/after, lust for/after, hanker for/after, have one's heart set on
Antonyms: aversion, distaste, apathy, dislike, hatred, antipathy, disgust, disregard, abhorrence, acrimony, wet, animosity, animus, antagonism, bad feeling, bitterness, be averse to, detestation
Showing 3826 to 3850 of 4959 results
3826. Unholy Alliances
Illustration
... behavior. We read that "he walked...as did the house of Ahab; for he had the daughter of Ahab as his wife, and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Chr. 21:6). Jehoram's reign was a failure, and he died "without being desired" (v. 20) because of one mistake: he married a worldly woman Ahab's daughter. The Bible tells us that "there was none like unto Ahab, who did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up" (1 Ki. 21:25). Unholy ...
3827. Drowned For Faithfulness
Illustration
Staff
... that "She wished the salvation of all men, and the damnation of none." "Dear Margaret," said one of the by-standers, deeply affected, "say God save the king." She answered with great steadiness, "God save him, if he will, for it is his salvation I desire." "Sir, they cried to the major, "she has said it; she has said it!" The major, approaching her on hearing this, offered her the abjuration oath, charging her instantly to swear it, otherwise to return to the water. The poor young woman...firmly replied, "I ...
3828. Travel on Your Knees
Illustration
Sandra Goodwin
... some hours of ease; I felt the Lord right by my side While traveling on my knees. As I prayed on and saw souls saved And twisted bodies healed, And saw God's workers' strength renewed While laboring on the field. I said, "Yes, Lord, I have a job My desire Thy will to please; I can go and heed Thy call By traveling on my knees."
3829. Passing Down the Prayer
Illustration
... the source of joy, when they decide to let Christ rule in their home, they have chosen the way of joy that will never disappoint them. Billy Graham's parents were both committed Christians. Although he was a businessman, his father had at one time felt a desire to preach. The way never seemed opened for him. After Billy entered the ministry, the father said, "I prayed for years for a way to be opened. But never once was there the slightest encouragement from God. My heart burned and I wondered why God did ...
3830. Letters of Instruction
Illustration
Charles Swindoll
... . I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees. He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time, he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers that everything is in a mess, weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud ...
3831. Training for Delinquency
Illustration
Charles Swindoll
... his TV programs]. Sterilize the silverware, but let him feast his mind on garbage. Quarrel frequently in his presence. Then he won't be too surprised when his home is broken up later. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. Every sensual desire must be gratified; denial may lead to harmful frustrations. Give your child all the spending money he wants. Don't make him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you did? Take his side against neighbors, teachers, and policemen. They ...
3832. The Time for Practice Is Now
Illustration
... in which he is pouring out his life, is convinced that the Lord means to bring his efforts to a successful conclusion. Nevertheless, even such a confident worker grows discouraged at times and worries because results do not come as rapidly as he would desire. But growth and strength in waiting are results often greater than the end so impatiently longed for. Paul had time to realize this as he lay in prison. Moses must have asked, 'Why?' many times during the delays in Midian and in the wilderness. Jesus ...
3833. Using Persuasion to Change People's Minds
Illustration
G. Collins
... the effectiveness of a persuasive appeal. Information, by itself, almost never produces permanent changes. In time, the effects of oratory and persuasive communication wear off. People are more likely to change when the message is repeated more than once, and when the desired conclusion is presented at the beginning or at the end of the presentation, instead of in the middle. A persuasive appeal is more effective when people are required to be active (for example, by discussing an issue or by having to ...
3834. Content with the Customs
Illustration
Staff
... to dwell in the monastery, and will be content with the customs which he finds in the place, and do not perchance by his lavishness disturb the monastery, but is simply content with what he finds, he shall be received, for as long a time as he desires. If, indeed, he find fault with anything, or expose it, reasonably, and with the humility of charity, the Abbot shall discuss it prudently, lest perchance God has sent him for this very thing. But if he have been found lavish or vicious in the time of his ...
3835. The Duty of Prayer
Illustration
John Bunyan
... , and affectionate emotional pouring out of their hearts or souls to God. Too many content themselves with a little lip-service and bodily exercise, mumbling over a few imaginary prayers. When the emotions are involved in such urgency that the soul will waste itself rather than go without the good desired, there is communion and solace with Christ. And hence it is that the saints have spent their strength, and lost their lives, rather than go without the blessings God intended for them.
3836. Thine Messenger
Illustration
Warren Wiersbe
... made him the prince of expositors. His preaching made him popular. One evening, as he sat in his study, he felt God saying to him, "What are you going to be, a preacher or My messenger?" As Morgan pondered the question, he realized that his desire to become a "great preacher" was hindering his work. For several hours Morgan sat there struggling with God's call and human ambition. Finally he said, "Thy messenger, my Master Thine!" He took the precious outlines of his sermons, messages that he was proud of ...
3837. Nothing Happens Standing Still
Illustration
Paul Borthwick
... risks. No one ever stubs his or her toe while standing still. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly. But above all, try something!" Failing to try because of a desire to be secure results in inaction and failure to lead. John Henry Jowett, a great English preacher, likewise pointed out the temptation of self-preservation and its result in faithless lives: It is possible to evade a multitude of sorrows through the cultivation of an ...
3838. Simple Courage to Raise a Family
Illustration
Charles Colson
... had drifted from job to job, from mistress to mistress. Eventually, he began living with a simple servant girl named Therese. When Therese presented him with a baby, Rousseau was, in his own words, "Thrown into the greatest embarrassment." His burning desire was to be received into Parisian high society, and an illegitimate child was an awkward encumbrance. Friends whispered that unwanted offspring were customarily sent to a "foundling asylum." A few days later, a tiny, blanketed bundle was left on the ...
3839. A Life Without Clouds
Psalm 30:5
Illustration
Staff
... One might imagine this area to be an earthly paradise, but is far from that! It is a sterile and desolate wilderness! There are no streams of water, and nothing grows there. We often long for total sunshine and continuous joy in life, and we desire to avoid the heartaches that bring tears to our eyes. Like that sunny, infertile part of Chile, however, life without clouds and even an occasional downpour would not be productive or challenging. Though showers do come, they will also end, and the sun will shine ...
3840. Fill In the Gaps
Illustration
Staff
... so excited about it? You must wait for a definite call to go! You haven't finished your daisy chains yet. It would be really selfish," they said, "to leave us to finish the work alone." There was another group. It was made up of people whose great desire was to get more sentries out; but they found that very few wanted to go and sometimes there were no sentries set for miles and miles of the edge. Once a girl stood alone in her place, waving the people back; but her mother and other relations called, and ...
3841. The Ways of the World
Illustration
Dave Roper
The Bible defines worldliness by centering morality where we intuitively know it should be. Worldliness is the lust of the flesh (a passion for sensual satisfaction), the lust of the eyes (an inordinate desire for the finer things of life), and the pride of life (self-satisfaction in who we are, what we have, and what we have done). Worldliness, then, is a preoccupation with ease and affluence. It elevates creature comfort to the point of idolatry; large salaries and comfortable life-styles become ...
3842. Jingle Bells at a Funeral
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Sermon
King Duncan
... . Many years later, he recalled that final Christmas in a prison camp, and he wrote, “The Gospel is no less true when circumstances are most terrible. If we soak ourselves in this truth we shall never find ourselves making excuses for our lack of desire to celebrate . . . May Christmas joy be real and radiant for us all no matter what our circumstances.” (5) “Count your many blessings . . .” says an old Gospel tune. Do it daily, even when things are not going well and it will transform your life ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... its acceptance- - constitute an “earnest,” a promise of a commitment that is to come. Buying baby booties before any child has been conceived is an “earnest” of a life that is anticipated with joy. A college fund, scrupulously saved over the years, is an earnest of the desire for our child to have a future that beckons with possibilities. We have just lived the first week of a new year. Yes, this is a year where we might have to take off a few pounds, a year when we will definitely have to pay our ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... days and two nights. When the storm finally subsided it took him five days and four nights to find his way back to civilization, crawling on his hands and knees in temperatures twenty degrees below zero. How did he ever make it? How did he overcome the desire to lie down and rest, which would have meant death for him? Well, he thought of his wife and his sons and how they needed him. He thought of his responsibility to get the mail through. And he survived, although his hands and feet were so badly frozen ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... of “the least of these.” Being the “handiwork of God” is not for the fainthearted. It is not for those who are content to just get by in life. I can tell you that there is no joy in simply existing. But there is joy without end to those who desire to be world-class in serving him. Your Lord kneels on a pillow, hangs on a cross, says to you and to me, “You were created for good works, for making a difference in the world, not that you might boast but that others might glorify my Father.” That’s ...
3846. Mark 1:29-39
Mark 1:29-34
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... who are seeking miraculous cures from spiritual or physical ailments. Jesus the healer is the one who is desperately sought — both by his disciples and by the crowds. Found — and “found out” — Jesus now redirects his disciples and their desires. This first public foray at Capernaum revealed how Jesus’ mission could be misconstrued and misdirected. Love and compassion led Jesus to offer healing, exorcisms, miracles of all kinds, to those people who approached him. But miracle-working was not ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... by the historic church. Not many people know this, but it’s called “white” martyrdom. White martyrdom describes a different kind of sacrifice, a different kind of witnessing. “White” martyrdom describes those witnesses who manage to die to themselves, to their own needs and desires, every day of their lives. A white martyr is one whose life becomes such a perpetual pilgrimage, who lives to Christ always, so that “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” A white martyr is one who can say ...
3848. Between Belief and Disbelief
Luke 24:13-35
Illustration
Randolph T. Riggs
... in the Resurrection. We understand them, don't we? We want to believe, but we live somewhere in between belief and non-belief. In fact, we may feel more like the family of actress Helen Hayes. Her husband and her son wanted to encourage her desire to try her hand at cooking her first Thanksgiving Dinner. So in the days leading up to Thanksgiving Day, they gave her words of encouragement telling her that they were looking forward to the big event. She had never cooked a turkey before, and before serving ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... God is in it. Even if your decision turns out not to be the best possible decision due to some unforeseeable circumstances, God will help you turn it into something good, even if it is only a necessary learning experience. Remember, there are many desirable benefits that come only through failure. This is important. Everyone makes bad decisions sometimes. Don’t assume that because you are successful that you are in the center of God’s will. You may have only been lucky. Or maybe you are more talented ...
3850. Not All Conflict Is Healthy
Mark 6:26
Illustration
Eric Ritz
... bartender is in total shock. "That's amazing" he says, "what else can he do? Does he talk?" The man says "Sure he talks. Hey, Jake, tell him about that time we were hunting in Africa and YOU CALLED THAT WITCH DOCTOR AN IDIOT!" Not all conflict is healthy or desirable. But some conflict is unavoidable. "Be careful," said Jesus, "when all men speak well of you."
Showing results