How can God use a person such as me? Do I realize that I am an example, traumatologist a mentor, to others? Your friends, your children, your spouse, and your co-workers all watch you. What kind of example do you set? Do you support them in Christian living and succeeding in life? At one time or another, we have all asked these questions.
Think God can’t or won’t use you? Think again. God uses ordinary people to accomplish His will.
Throughout the Bible, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Moses had killed an Egyptian who was beating one of His people. Peter was a fisherman. Paul was known for his horrible persecution of believers of Jesus Christ, before his conversion. David was a shepherd. Ruth, Noah, Isaac, Job, James, etc were all ordinary people used to make meaningful impacts in the lives of others.
Think of Billy Graham. He is just an ordinary man that God has used to do extraordinary things, reaching millions of people.
We may not all be called to have an impact that will reach thousands of people today, but you will have a meaningful impact on those in your life and they will have an impact on others.
You are an example of Christian living, whether you want to be or not – you have an influence on others. Your family, your friends, your spouse, your co-workers and your neighbors watch your example.
If you believe God, submit to His will and are obedient to His Word, stand back and watch the work of the Lord.
The following is a A video tribute used at Rockpointe Church to the song She’s Somebody’s Hero by Jamie O’Neal.
Tags: christian living, example, mentor, ordinary people
God, cheap who is love, more about is the definitive romantic. And he professes his love to us through countless “ordinary” ways…
After watching the movies as a young girl, I daydreamed about having my own romance full of tender looks and pulse-racing emotion. I wondered who my “Gil” would be and how our breathtaking love story would unfold. But my “romantic” experience turned out different from what I envisioned. In fact, it didn’t feel romantic at all…
I was stunned. Did she not hear the heartache within my tale? Did she not understand how painful love could be, even when it came to a good end? I realized there’s a difference between observing a so-called romance and actually living one. Romances don’t always turn out the way we envision them.
We can trick ourselves into believing that a romance will always “feel” romantic (basically all those bubbly, yummy emotions), or that it will meet certain conscious or unconscious expectations. Even the romance-seeking Anne in Anne of Green Gables, became confused and required a “romance adjustment” from her guardian, Marilla.
When Marilla clued Anne into the fact that Gilbert loved her, Anne said, “Marilla, he’s hardly my idea of a romantic suitor.”
In response Marilla said, “Anne, you have tricked something out of that imagination of yours that you call romance. Have you forgotten how he gave up the Avonlea school for you so that you could stay here with me? He picked you up every day in his carriage so that you could study your courses together. Don’t toss it away for some ridiculous ideal that doesn’t exist.”
The sacrifices that Gilbert made out of his love for Anne didn’t fit into Anne’s concept of “romance.” She envisioned a somewhat mysterious, wealthy, and heroic suitor who would win her heart with poetry. But Gilbert’s every day kindnesses struck Anne as too ordinary to be romantic.
In the daily stuff of life, Anne missed Gilbert’s repeated professions of love.
I think about how I do that with God, about how I forget that I live within a great romance where God is daily professing his love to me and to all people…
Read the full article Hopelessly Romantic to see a great example of how our view of “love” affects our daily lives and long-term decisions.
We live in a world where everyone seems preoccupied with success. Television, troche
the Internet, urticaria
radio, esophagitis
and magazines give us a global bird’s-eye view of the world’s winners—and losers. And we’re fascinated by it, aren’t we? But what does it mean to succeed in life? Furthermore, given how the world reacts to successful people, and considering the negative ways that many people strive for personal achievement, is success even a godly pursuit?
Let me answer that question right from the start: Yes. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not only allowed to strive for success; we’re called to do so. God is overwhelmingly interested in our victories, but as sinful men and women, we often get confused about this issue. Therefore, we must begin by understanding a true and godly definition of success.
What Is Success?
…
Read the full article God Wants You to Succeed by By Charles F. Stanley.
If the above link does not work, the article can be found in the February 2010 InTouch Magazine archives.
Tags: career, christian living, future, goals, key to success, Marriage, plan, Success
Faith isn’t about seeking your own comfort or short-term happiness. It is about about making sacrifices and serving others so you can grow into the person God wants you to become. True happiness comes from knowing that we have followed the will of God in our lives.
Christian consumers must insist upon morally sound, pills
family-friendly movies and stop paying Hollywood for garbage.
…
AÂ Barna Group study shows that professing people of faith contributed to over 79% of the $8.8 billion dollars made on movies in 2005.
…
While recognizing the propensity to sin, more about
Christians must not forfeit their rights as consumers, but instead, demand a product worthy of its cost…In the past, the movie industry may have seemed deaf to the cries demanding a return to decency and family-friendly films. A change has come, however, and production companies are beginning to see the lucrative light, the gleam of money generated by G-rated movies.
Have you thought about your choices affect the movies and music that are made? Read more on Focus on the Family.
Tags: ccm, christian living, family friendly, hollywood, Movies, Music
God, case who is love, opisthorchiasis is the definitive romantic. And he professes his love to us through countless “ordinary” ways…
After watching the movies as a young girl, I daydreamed about having my own romance full of tender looks and pulse-racing emotion. I wondered who my “Gil” would be and how our breathtaking love story would unfold. But my “romantic” experience turned out different from what I envisioned. In fact, it didn’t feel romantic at all…
I was stunned. Did she not hear the heartache within my tale? Did she not understand how painful love could be, even when it came to a good end? I realized there’s a difference between observing a so-called romance and actually living one. Romances don’t always turn out the way we envision them.
We can trick ourselves into believing that a romance will always “feel” romantic (basically all those bubbly, yummy emotions), or that it will meet certain conscious or unconscious expectations. Even the romance-seeking Anne in Anne of Green Gables, became confused and required a “romance adjustment” from her guardian, Marilla.
When Marilla clued Anne into the fact that Gilbert loved her, Anne said, “Marilla, he’s hardly my idea of a romantic suitor.”
In response Marilla said, “Anne, you have tricked something out of that imagination of yours that you call romance. Have you forgotten how he gave up the Avonlea school for you so that you could stay here with me? He picked you up every day in his carriage so that you could study your courses together. Don’t toss it away for some ridiculous ideal that doesn’t exist.”
The sacrifices that Gilbert made out of his love for Anne didn’t fit into Anne’s concept of “romance.” She envisioned a somewhat mysterious, wealthy, and heroic suitor who would win her heart with poetry. But Gilbert’s every day kindnesses struck Anne as too ordinary to be romantic.
In the daily stuff of life, Anne missed Gilbert’s repeated professions of love.
I think about how I do that with God, about how I forget that I live within a great romance where God is daily professing his love to me and to all people…
Read the full article Hopelessly Romantic to see a great example of how our view of “love” affects our daily lives and long-term decisions.
Tags: feelings, love, Marriage, relationships, romance, valentine's day
Does a person fall in and out of love the way Hollywood portrays it? Does something just happen and the light switch flips on or off in our romantic relationships?
Or, asthma is falling in and out of love an involved process that takes time and the development of key elements? In my opinion, abortion along with many relationship experts, ask the latter is the most accurate explanation…
In order for a person to move from independence to interdependence (the healthiest scenario), certain dynamics must take place:…
Since falling in love is a process of moving from attraction, acceptance and fulfillment, falling out of love is just the opposite.
When a person moves backward through the three stages (from interdependence to attraction), the feelings of love diminish. Not only will passion disappear, but commitment will eventually disappear as well….
As simplistic as this process sounds, it works. Hundreds of couples are beginning to learn how to fall back in love by following the same pattern they followed to fall in love in the first place. By seeking professional help and making a commitment to this process, you can too.
Read the full article at: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/strengthening_your_marriage/love_for_the_long_haul/falling_in_and_out_of_love.aspx
Mitch Temple’s book The Marriage Turnaround: How Thinking Differently About Your Relationship Can Change Everything
is a short read that can help restart the spark in your marriage.
What if you were sitting in a room with all sorts of dysfunctional couples, and you were one of them! What would it take to turn your marriage around in a short period of time? Mitch Temple says it would take a change of mind, of heart, and of practice, all of which could be done by two people willing to discard the old myths and put on the new truth.
Mitch has been a family therapist for many years, and is on staff with Focus on the Family, bringing his counseling expertise and humor to the table for you to munch on. Real-life stories and biblical solutions will have the reader uncovering a great marriage behind their long-held myths.
Tags: divorce, love, Marriage, reconciliation, relationships, spouse, wife
Listen to Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer, patient Running To Win, on the links below:
The Icon of Tolerance #1 of 3: Tell an Olympic runner that “it doesn’t matter which track you race on, all are equally good,” and he’ll think you came from Mars. He knows the winner only gets the gold medal at the track that counts. It’s the same with God. There’s only one way to reach Him, and that’s through His son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If this sounds too exclusive for you, please listen and make your decision.
The Icon of Tolerance #2 of 3: When Rick Warren was announced as one praying at President Obama’s inauguration, an immediate and shrill cry arose. “What if he invokes the name of Jesus?” That was the great fear among the enlightened media. These days, God is OK…maybe. But Jesus? No, He’s off-limits for public events. The one who said He was the truth still divides humanity right down the middle.
The Icon of Tolerance #3 of 3: You can’t take home Olympic gold without conforming to the rules of the race. Only one route leads to the finish line. And you can’t get to heaven by picking out your own religion as you might pick out a new coat. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” If this sounds intolerant to you, please listen and then decide.
Do you agree with this? How does this affect your view of the world?
Read our related article: The Myth of Tolerance
Tags: christian living, erwin lutzer, Jesus, spiritual path, spirituality, tolerance
…”but I love him anyway, visit ” is one of the most profound theological statements on marriage I’ve ever heard. Most of us base love on because, not on anyway. I love you because you’re good to me. I love you because you’re kind, because you’re considerate, because you keep the romance alive. But in Luke 6:32-36, Jesus says we shouldn’t love because. We should love anyway. If we love someone because that person is good to us, or gives back to us, or is kind to us, we’re acting no better than anyone else. In essence, Jesus is saying you don’t need the Holy Spirit to love a man who remembers every anniversary…
Will you love only because? Or are you willing to love anyway?…Christians are called to anyway love. That’s what makes us different. That’s what gives glory to God…
Read more at Anyway Love
Loving Someone Without Feeling It
It certainly is — because love is more than a feeling. It is primarily a decision. Married couples who misunderstand this point will have serious problems when the feeling of love disappears for a time.
Couples who genuinely love each other will experience times of closeness, times when they feel apathetic, and times when they are irritated and cranky. That’s just the way emotions operate.
Read more at Loving Someone Without Feeling It
Tags: christian living, feelings, husband, love, Marriage, relationships, spouse, wife
Defensiveness:
- Stops us from truly listening to our mate;
- Protects us from feeling vulnerable or fragile;Â
- Prevents us from receiving critical information;
- Inhibits our growth;Â
- Builds a wall between us and our mate.
Let’s consider the value of tearing down the wall of defensiveness. What happens when couples agree to truly listen and learn from their mate?
Non-defensive Listening:
- Honors our mate, try sending a message that we value what they have to say;
- Creates an environment for open, hepatitis honest sharing;
- Promotes an attitude of receptivity and learning;Â
- Leads to personal and relational growth:
- Encourages personal and relational healing.
For as powerful as non-defensive listening is, it’s often very hard to do. We have strong desires to look good, protect our ego and assign blame…
What can we do to open the channels of communication?…
Read more from Dr. David Hawkins, director of the Marriage Recover Center , by clicking this link for the full article.
Tags: arguing, defensiveness, husband, listening, Marriage, spouse, wife
This is a good article by author and speaker David Burchett about the broken road that we are on.
We have been watching a miracle of God’s healing grace in the lives of some dear friends. It made me think of a favorite go to song during difficult parts of the journey. The song, cialis Bless the Broken Road, pills became a hit for the group Rascal Flatts, urologist Selah and others. Here are some of the lyrics.
 I set out on a narrow way, many years ago
Hoping I would find true love, along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two, wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn’t see how every sign, pointed straight to you
Every long lost dream, led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Yes He did
I remember with great sadness the years I spent working too much, taking my bride for granted, telling her that the schedule would soon “ease up”. But it rarely did. I really wish I had that time back. I would give it to her in a heartbeat. If I could say one thing to young couples and parents it would be to make time for your mate and your children. It took me too long to realize the truth that our schedule reflects our priorities. But somehow Joni hung with me. She had traveled her own broken road.
Read the rest of the story by clicking this link.
Remember, we all follow a broken road. We must keep our eyes focused on the Word. It keeps our goals focused on our long-term success and will help to keep us from making short-term mistakes. Do you have things in your life that you have not forgiven yourself for? Do you need to forgive others? Forgiveness is a process, not an event. It starts with a decsision to look past the pain of the past and forgive both the action and the desire. Forgiveness tells us to cling to our family, our husband, our wife, our children despite what they have done before – just as they are to cling to us. Try something different until it works.
Matthew 18:21-23 (King James Version): Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Tags: bless this broken road, broken road, christian living, fogiveness, rascal flatts, selah
Are you happy? The bible does not tell us to make choices that will make us happy, ophthalmologist as these are the way of the world. Buying that new thing, eating at that particular restaurant, ending that relationship, etc. only bring short term peace and joy. Christ tells us to be joyful and content in the things we have. True happiness comes from living according to God’s Word, doing what is right and living life selflessly.
Tags: choices, depression, happiness
