09.25.07
What is TIME?
Time
by Billy Porter
What is time?
Is it the Autumn leaves that change,
or the snow that floats from the sky.
What is time?
Is it the air we breathe,
or the wings that teach a newborn bird to fly.
Who can tell?
I don’t know, will we change, will we grow..
What is time?
Is it eternity in Heaven,
or just a hope for peace on Earth.
Where’s the time?
Gone.. in the blink of an eye.
But with every blink a pearl…
We live, we learn, we love, in time,
we give, we yearn, we grow..
In time..
Time for change,
it’s time to care, it’s not too late, don’t despair.
Reach inside your heart to find the joy,
the love to share with all mankind, for we know…
09.10.07
My WISH for YOU
My Wish
by Rascal Flatts
I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you’re faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin’ till you find the window,
If it’s cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you’re out there getting where you’re getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God’s grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you’re out there getting where you’re getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big.
How to HEAR from GOD
How Can I Tell if God is Talking to Me?
Here are some common ways God talks to us:
- His Word
In order to actually “hear” from God, we have to know some things about God’s character. We have to develop an understanding of who God is, and the way he does things. Fortunately for us, all that information is available in the Bible. The Book goes into a lot of detail about how you can expect God to react, what kinds of expectations he has for us, and most specifically, how he expects us to treat other people. It’s actually a pretty good book, given its age. - Other People
Many times God will use other people to try to get through to us. It’s possible for God to use anyone at any time, but I find more messages coming from people who are practicing Christians than non-practicing ones. - Our Circumstances
Sometimes the only way God can teach us something is to allow circumstances in our life to lead us to and through the very thing we need to discover. One of my favorite authors, Joyce Meyer, says, “There’s no such thing as a drive-through break-through.” - The Still Small Voice
Most of the time God uses a tiny voice inside us to let us know when we’re not on the right path. Some people call it “the voice of peace.” Whenever we’re contemplating something and we don’t have peace about it, it’s a very good idea to stop and carefully look at the options. There’s a reason you don’t feel peace about it. - The Actual Voice
Sometimes we’re able to “hear” something in our spirit that sounds to us like an actual audible voice. Or all of a sudden, you just know you heard something. Pay attention to those occasions because it is very likely God trying to tell you something.
When God Talks, Shut Up and Listen
Let me give you an example. A couple years ago I signed up to become a hospital visitor for my church. When I first saw the notice in our church bulletin, I immediately felt that I should respond. But, I let it pass. Over the next couple of weeks, the thought occurred to me off and on so I said to myself, “If I see the notice in the bulletin this coming Sunday, I’ll sign up.”Of course, it was in there. But this time when I saw it, there was no getting away from it. I finally had to say, “Okay, okay God, I’m going!”
So there I was doing hospital visits for the first time. I was nervous, but I prayed a lot before I went, and I was doing okay. But on my way to the second hospital, I prayed again that God would use me to represent Him to all the sick people, giving comfort, etc.
Right in front of the hospital was a crosswalk with a traffic light. As I stood at the corner I kept praying, starting to cross, even though the light was red. I mean, I was in a hurry trying to get to all those sick people!
Right in the middle of the street I heard, “So you want to represent Me, and you can’t even make it across the street without breaking the law?”
I was so shocked by this, I said the most spiritual thing I could think of, “Oops.”
God uses lots of things to talk to us. But actually hearing from God isn’t so much a matter of if he’s talking, but rather, whether we’re listening.
Hearing from God is a LEARNED SKILL.
09.08.07
What is God’s PURPOSE of MARRIAGE?
The Four-Fold Purpose of Marriage
Partnership
One of the primary purposes of marriage is partnership. Or, I could more fittingly call it, companionship. When God created us, the scripture says, we were fearfully and wonderfully made, (See Psalms 139:14). Part of our make up is; God DID NOT create us to be alone. He specifically wired us for companionship and declared this revelatory truth when He stated, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” (See Genesis 2:18).
The yearning we have for companionship is part of our spiritual DNA. God designed the partnership of marriage to fulfill that yearning. This divinely inspired partnership was designed to fortify both participants in ways that mere words cannot aptly express or define.
Pleasure
One of the ways this partnership fortifies, invigorates, relaxes and pleasures the participants is through sexual relations. Religion has taught us that we were not to enjoy sex. Not only do such doctrines contradict one of the crucial purposes for which God designed marriage; their sermons leave many couples gripped in harmful sexual bondage.
The truth is; God hot-wired us with a sex drive, and He intended for man and woman to express and joyfully fulfill their sexual desires with each other through the rites of passage of a covenant marriage.
Meditate on these facts; God engineered our body parts to fit perfectly together, (male to female). He programmed our bodies to respond to touch, taste, sight, sound and aroma. He installed in us the ability to become sexually aroused. Once aroused, our bodies automatically emit chemicals, aromas and sensitivities that heighten the sexual experience.
He wired us with capabilities to experience intense and immeasurable pleasure from foreplay and sexual intercourse. To top things off, He gave us the capacity to climax and enjoy orgasms. With all of those irrefutable truths and facts, pious religious folks continue to try and convince us that sex was never meant for pleasure. Go figure?
It shouldn’t take a 20-year study by Harvard researchers, a PhD, or a doctorate to understand and accept the fact that God gave us these capabilities for the sole purpose of enjoying sexual pleasures and for no other reason! (See Song of Solomon 4:11 and Proverbs 5:18-19).
Procreation
Another vital purpose of marriage is procreation; the conceiving and bearing of offspring. The Lord God revealed this part of the four-fold purpose of marriage when He released these commanding words:
Genesis 1:28 (Amplified Bible)
And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth…
Jeremiah 29:5-6
5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
His vision is to fill the earth with righteous men and women who bring forth righteous children, The Lord intended on parents instilling in their offspring – godly morals and family values, (See Proverbs 22:6). His plan is for this model of the family to multiply and flourish until the earth is filled with men and women who reverence and obey His Word.
Purity
In His infinite wisdom, the Lord God purposed for marriage to protect us from the consequences and devastation of a society engrossed in moral chaos and sexual immorality. Meditate on His words carefully…
Hebrews 13:4 (The Message)
Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.
Make no mistake about it; God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. Marriage was and is the only pathway the Lord has ordained for a man and woman to engage in sexual relations. (See 1 Corinthians 7:2 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
The Lord has drawn this clearly marked point of demarcation because of the disastrous effects of promiscuity and loose sexual morals. (e.g. birth defects, unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, fatherless children, paternity fraud, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, emotional torment, heartbreaking disappointment) and the list goes on.
A marriage union between an honorable man and a virtuous woman protects a man and woman from the impurities of casual and illicit sex.
The Manifold Blessings of Marriage
The manifold blessings of being in a union ordained of God are innumerable. You delight in the most glorious, precious, beautiful and purest intimacy known to mankind. You engage in unfettered romance. You experience true love as it was sculptured by God.
You have the assurance that you are protected from the ravages of sexual degradation and immorality. You develop confidence and a clear conscience from knowing you did it God’s way. Countless men and women lie down with each other, but get up with a guilty conscience. With every sexual encounter they are tormented, knowing in their hearts that God adamantly disapproves of their casual and illicit affairs.
Concerning offspring; children need both parents! The joy, satisfaction and security of growing up in a balanced, loving and stable environment with both father and mother are immeasurable. I could go on and on describing and defining the benefits and blessings of marriage.
Know this; when marriage is done right, it is magnificent, beautiful, romantic, marvelous, awesome, exquisite, grand, fascinating, splendid and much, much more! Now that you know the four-fold purpose of marriage, may God bless you with a joyful and enriching union!
Source: “The Four-Fold Purpose of Marriage” by Gillis Triplett
09.04.07
Which TEMPTATION is your “BOWL of STEW”?
Spiritual Shortsightedness…..“Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.” ” Genesis 25:29-34
Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. He was so focused on his stomach’s immediate needs that he ignored the future blessings meant for a first-born son: authority over the family and a double portion of his father’s wealth. Esau’s foolishness is a lesson for us to avoid spiritual shortsightedness. We, too, can be tempted to think of today’s needs at the expense of future blessing.
God created us with legitimate appetites for food, sleep, pleasure, and intimacy. We tend to think if a little of something is good, then more will be better. But the Lord knows that too much of anything is detrimental to our body, mind, and spirit. That’s why Galatians 5:22-23 lists self-control as spiritual fruit. God Himself gives us the strength and wisdom to remain within the boundaries He’s set for these desires.
When we’re spiritually shortsighted, we ignore the Spirit’s promptings and allow our appetites to rule us. Believers cannot afford to live according to what feels right or looks good. Focusing on immediate gratification will yield only temporary fulfillment. Lasting contentment is the result of pleasing God instead of self.
You can probably think of at least one temptation that Satan tells you is necessary or deserved. Watch out. That’s your “Bowl of Stew.” Neglecting your spiritual well-being and losing a future blessing aren’t worth getting a taste of that temptation. Keep resisting. That bowl of stew will never compare with your birthright as a child of God.
Source: “Spiritual Shortsightedness” from In Touch Daily Devotional by Dr. Charles Stanley
