Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Celebrate Life

Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian employee of the Hebrew King Zedekiah, didn't have to help the prophet Jeremiah, but he did (Jeremiah 38-39). Enemies of Jeremiah spoke to Zedekiah, so that Zedekiah had Jeremiah placed in a prison filled with mud. The Hebrew people were at war with Babylon, and little food and no water was available to Jeremiah in prison. Ebed-melech spoke to Zedekiah, and Zedekiah released Jeremiah from prison.

People like Ebed-melech and Chuck Wall speak up when others are wronged. One day in the spring of 1993 an anchorman commented on a bad situation, "Another random act of senseless violence." Chuck Wall, who is blind and a human relations instructor at a college in Bakersfield, California, heard the comment and was inspired to commit random acts of senseless kindness. Wall shared his idea with his students asking them to do something out of the ordinary to help someone and then to write an essay about it. He also decided to print bumper stickers that said: "Today, I will commit one random act of senseless kindness...Will you?" The idea caught on in Wall's community and spread internationally, so that today many are familiar with the phrase "random acts of kindness."

Kindness celebrates and reproduces life. Chuck Wall's kindness has helped other people. When Ebed-melech was kind to Jeremiah, God was kind to Ebed-melech. Jeremiah 39:15-18 Amplified Bible says, "Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was [still] shut up in the court of the guard, saying, Go and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring to pass My words against this city for evil and not for good; and they will be accomplished before you on that day. But I will deliver you [Ebed-melech] on that day, says the Lord, and you will not be given into the hands of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely deliver you; and you will not fall by the sword, but your life will be [as your only booty and] as a reward of battle to you, because you have put your trust in Me, says the Lord."

Perhaps Ebed-melech is one of the early believers who shared the news of an eternal, loving relationship with God with others in his native Ethiopia. Today Ethiopia is an African nation never conquered by a European nation in modern times and is a Christian-majority country that has been filled with Christians for centuries. 

Please share ways you celebrated life today. 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

You Are Never Too Old

Sexual love doesn't have to end when we reach a certain age. Jack, a character in the romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco, says to Marilyn, his wife of more than 30 years, "You have very, very beautiful eyes." Marilyn comments, "Come on. You know I have to go upstairs, and um I'm going to take my calcium so my bones don't break into little pieces, my aspirin so my heart doesn't clog up, my Metamucil so I don't get colon cancer, and of course my estrogen to convince my body that I'm still 23." Jack responds, "Come here." They kiss, and marital, senior sex ensues.

Abraham also enjoyed marital, senior sex. Abraham had his first child at 86 and seven more stretching well into his 100s.

In God's eyes age is just a number not a reason to stop living a full, enjoyable life advancing God's Kingdom through relationship building.

If you are not making frequent delicious with your spouse, contact a Bible teacher, Bible counselor, Christian sex therapist and/or Christian marriage counselor. God designed sexual relations for spouses to give and to receive enjoyment from each other while strengthening their marriage. Whether one screams out in passion, silently savors sex or is somewhere in between, marital sex is made for merriment. Solomon writes in Proverbs 5 The Message Bible, "Enjoy the wife you married as a young man! Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—don’t ever quit taking delight in her body."

Sex at 60 and beyond may not be the same as sex at 25, but then again it may be even better. Moses was married, and he was also in his right mind and healthy body up to death at 120. Imagine the sexual expertise and possibilities!

Please share something sweet about senior sexuality. Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of North Carolina have been married 85 years (86 in May 2013) and hold the Guinness World Record for the longest marriage of a living couple. Zelmyra is 101 years old. Herbert is 104 years old. They have 5 children, 10 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild.

How did the Fishers stay married so long? They are Christians who are good lovers and good friends. Solomon's Shulammite wife says about Solomon in Song of Solomon 5:16 New Living Translation Bible, "His mouth is sweetness itself, he is desirable in every way. Such, O women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend."

Monday, October 29, 2012

A Good Chuckle Connects Us to Others

"May those who love us love us; and those who do not love us, may God turn their hearts, and if He cannot turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles that we may know them by their limping." -- Irish prayer

A little lightheartedness not taken too literally may produce laughter and lead to more connectedness with people in our circles of intimacy, friendship, participation and exchange. A lot of things in life can get us down especially on-going disagreements with family, friends and others. Staying down is the devil's playground. Believers build relationships in various ways through God. Nehemiah 8:10 New Living Translation Bible says, " . . . Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!"

A laugh or a chuckle can be a part of expressing the joy of the Lord. Genuine laughter has many benefits for our relationship with God, self and others. The following are nine benefits of a laugh or chuckle:

1) reduces stress

2) lowers blood pressure

3) elevates mood

4) boosts the immune system

5) improves brain functioning

6) protects the heart

7) connects us to God and people

8) fosters instant relaxation

9) makes us feel good.

Try to introduce laughter into your relationships several times a day. Helpful and healing laughter doesn't make people feel bad about themselves. 

God created each person unique. No two people have the same laugh. Laughter is not elicited from everyone in the same way. Sometimes we bomb sharing jokes, witticisms and other attempts at humor because we haven't thoroughly studied and appreciated the audience. Also "nunca llueve a gusto de todos" (it never rains to everyone's taste/you can't please everybody). But don't give up or get stuck. A Japanese proverbs says, "Fall down seven times, get up eight times." Keep on asking God to help you to inspire people to laugh or chuckle.

Please share an uplifting joke, witticism or other form of humor. Romans 14:17 Amplified Bible says, "[After all] the kingdom of God is . . .  righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Sexually Free

Religious leaders wanted to stone to death a woman caught in adultery (John 8). In response to the leaders Jesus Christ said, ". . . Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her," and to the woman He said, ". . . I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more."

Sexual freedom is found when we are free of condemnation and incorrect living, being led in a daily relationship with God. The religious leaders where trying to stone the woman based on texts such as Leviticus 18 and Deuteronomy 22 which discuss various sexual sins including the gay lifestyle. John 8 does not mention the man or woman who the woman was having sex with.

When Jesus implemented His earthly ministry more than 2,000 years ago He revealed the loving way to use the law. God loves us and tells us the way to live that will bring goodness and an enjoyable life for ourselves and others. Charlene Cothran is an African-American who was involved in gay-rights activism and lesbian relationships for nearly 30 years. God has been loving Cothran since way before she was born and was not content to allow her to live in darkness. God revealed Himself in a compelling way in 2006, and Cothran received a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. The magazine, Venus, that she used to publish for gay rights is still being published but now is showing people how to come out of the homosexual and lesbian lifestyle and live a fulfilling and thrilling life in relationship with God. In addition to her magazine, Venus, Cothran is also a licensed and ordained international minister and has founded a ministry called The EVIDENCE Ministry, Inc. Cothran says about EVIDENCE, "God has shown me that people who no longer want homosexuality and other sexual brokenness in their lives need to see the EVIDENCE of change in those who are now made free by simply believing and applying the Word of God to daily life."

Love and courage are needed to confront people who choose to harm themselves and others. Jesus showed in John 8 that confrontation need not be violent or disrespectful or unloving.

God created our skin with delicate nerve endings that release into our bodies endorphins and oxytocin -- "feel good" chemicals. When a man and a man or a woman and a woman have sexual relations it feels good and is bonding.

Yet everything that feels good is not good. It also feels good to some to eat themselves into obesity. Obesity is a health hazard linked to multiple diseases including heart disease, diabetes and cancers. Homosexuality and lesbianism disfigure the beautiful sexuality that God created and in a marriage and family context denies the couple and the children the learning and appreciation of differences in a father and mother. 

Many have come out of the gay life in a similar way that many heterosexuals have come out of a lifestyle of practicing partner sex outside of marriage. Coming out of sexual sin is not simple and is often not a short-term process. Muchas personas han tenido que tragar sapos para estar saludables (Many people had to swallow toads (to go through hell) to be healthy." 

Please share testimonies of coming out of the homosexual or lesbian lifestyle and into a vibrant relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost.

Cothran says as a lesbian there were times of joy and also times of intense loneliness, but today freed from a gay life and found in relationship with God, she says, "The peace and joy that I have I wouldn't trade for anything."

Friday, October 26, 2012

Something Horrible Happened?

Psychologists say we are born with two instinctive fears: the fear of loud noises and the fear of being dropped. God is so good that even if our fear of hearing loud noises and of being dropped comes true we can still have an awesome life.

Mephibosheth was dropped as a five-year-old and became crippled in both feet as a result (2 Samuel 4). He was also crippled in his mind holding a "dead dog" self-image (2 Samuel 9).

But God arranged for Mephibosheth to eat at the king's table, live on royal land being served by Ziba, Ziba's 15 sons and 20 servants from adulthood to death.

If something horrible happens to you like being crippled in both feet or in your mind or something else, press through the fear, shock, disappointment, anger, unforgiveness, depression and other negative emotions and go frequently and boldly to God asking Him for way more than you deserve or seems reasonable to live an awesome life in spite of misfortunes, challenges and differences.

Believers don't serve a miserly God who metes out cold justice. Our God loves extravagantly.

Sometimes in American culture we forget about loving people extravagantly and go to war over our misfortunes, challenges and differences. One example is the mommy wars. Whether we are mothers whose full-time work is to raise children like Pauletta Washington (wife of actor Denzel Washington) or mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners like Naomi Zacharias of Wellspring International, Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries or Cookie Lee of Cookie Lee Jewelry, we all have God-given purpose and roles in life. And this is also true for women who are complete and successful as singles without children like the first African-American female U.S. secretary of state, Condolezza Rice.

Many seem to have fear that if someone lives differently it is a threat to their lifestyle. Yet God created each one of us as unique. Even twins do not have the same fingerprint.

God didn't create us to be isolated and hostile but integrated and friendly. Mothers who raise their children full-time and mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners all need help raising their children. Sometimes we need the participation of more than fathers and other family members. Sheila Lirio Marcelo gave birth to her first son while in college. A few years later her parents emigrated to the United States from the Philippines and were helping with childcare when her father had a heart attack, suddenly switching from a childcare provider to one who needed care. Marcelo did not allow the fear, shock, pain and difficulty of the situation to keep her down indefinitely. She turned evil into good. Out of this horrible experience Marcelo created Care.com which provides services to find caregivers for typical and different children, seniors and pets. Care.com also helps with selecting tutors and housekeepers among other things.

Vive mas (live more). What ridiculous request have you asked of God in the face of fear and other negativity and found the path to awesome living?

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Wealth and Relationships

When we are in love we move obstacles to learn everything we can about our loved one. God likes to be chased and loved in a certain, intense way. God likes for us to communicate with Him constantly and to read, study, mediate and live His Word, the Bible. Living the Bible includes loving God and people using and enjoying the material world God created without being consumed by it.

To be materially rich can be used for good, but many can't handle it and still keep a red-hot love affair going with God and people. Being poor is a problem because life can become consumed in survival leaving little time to nurture relationships with God and people. Middle class may be the balance most thrive in love of God and people while having material needs and many wants met. Agur writes in Proverbs 30:8-9 Amplified Bible, "Remove far from me falsehood and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, Lest I be full and deny You and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal, and so profane the name of my God."

Wealth is not wicked. Make sure that God has developed you to handle wealth. Nice things need a lot of attention. Denzel Washington is a rich man who works very, very hard and can handle his wealth in a way that permits his relationship with God and people to thrive. In addition to an Oscar-laden acting career spanning three decades Washington is also a Christian who has been married to Pauletta Washington for nearly 30 years. This couple has four children, John David, Katia, Malcolm and Olivia, who they taught to say their prayers every night and who they encouraged to discover their-God-given purpose by annually writing down five things they might want to do or be when they grow up.

If you can be rich in a vibrant relationship with God and people and in material wealth like Washington, praise God and keep on being a good and faithful servant. If not, praise God and keep on being a good and faithful servant in the way God has empowered you to be.  

What impact has material things had on your relationship with God and people?

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

One Is Not Enough

"Then Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you cry? And why do you not eat? And why are you grieving? Am I not more to you than ten sons? (1 Samuel 1:8 Amplified Bible). Hannah loved her husband, Elkanah, and like all of us she was created for family and community. Consequently, a relationship with only one person would not meet her God-given relational needs and purpose. Hannah wanted to add a child to her family and community.

We are created with a desire and purpose for relationships with God and people whether we want to add a baby to our family like Hannah and/or add a spiritual baby to our spiritual family like the Apostle Paul who frequently went out preaching to people who had never heard about God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost and God's desire for an eternal relationship with believers.

Believers seek relationships with new people and to make strangers friends. 1 Peter 4:9 Amplified Bible says, "Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him)."

Some spouses and singles suck the life out of their relationships and fail to seek new relationships by trying to be and demanding that one person be the all-in-all to him or her for much of the 1,440 minutes in a day. God created us to need multiple friendships and relationships in varying degrees of intimacy. Chantal Sicile-Kira categorizes relationships in her article, "The Transition To Adulthood: Planning Ahead," for the magazine, Autism File, that is applicable to all people. She describes four circles of relationships:

1) The Circle of Intimacy includes those with whom we share our secrets, dreams and values. These are our best friends and are usually family members, but can and should also include others. We know and share a lot about what is going on in each others lives, our thoughts and feelings. We feel safe enough in these relationships to support each other spiritually and emotionally. Jesus encouraged intimate relationships beyond biology. Mark 3:33-35 New Living Translation Bible says, "Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

2) The Circle of Friendship includes friends or relatives whom we see for occasional social activities, such as for a movie or to eat a meal, but who are not our closest friends. The Bible records that Epaphras and Paul shared some time in jail and time spreading the Gospel, but not with the intensity and intimacy of the relationship between Timothy and Paul.

3) The Circle of Participation includes people who we participate with in our life, such as on the job, business or ministry, our place of worship, schools, sports teams, social clubs and other organizations. This circle contains people who may eventually be in the Circle of Friendship or even the Circle of Intimacy. We can socialize with members of our church, other churches and other groups. Luke 9:49-50 New Living Translation Bible says, "John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.” But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.”"

4) The Circle of Exchange includes people who are paid to be in our lives, such as medical professionals,  counselors, governmental employees, sales associates, etc. These people can also be cultivated to move into the Circle of Participation, Circle of Friendship and even the Circle of Intimacy. Everyone is a potential friend. Matthew 28:18-20 the Message Bible says, "Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.""

The circles of exchange and participation are casual relationships. The circle of friendship are comfortable relationships with people who are not involved in the intimate details of our lives. The circle of intimacy contains our confidants.

All of us need to receive a relationship with God for eternal life and security that God offers to us for free. John 17:3 Amplified Bible says, "And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent."

We also need human friends. Jesus says in John 13:34-35 New Living Translation Bible, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." Bishop Noel Jones and T.D. Jakes are believers in God and best friends. Jones is single. Jakes is married. They both also have other friends and children. The Holy Ghost living on the inside gives us the self-control to overcome the pride, insecurity and self-centeredness that demands excessive attention from someone and hinders us from expanding our relationships with God and people in the circles of exchange, participation, friendship and intimacy.

What are some ways you practice friendliness?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Sick and Strong

The prophet Elisha, who had a double portion of the prophet's Elijah's anointing, became sick as recorded in 2 Kings 13. Earlier in his life Elisha had laid on a dead boy, and God used Elisha to return life to the boy. But this time Elisha couldn't lay hands on himself and be healed of his sickness. Why? Autism, cerebral palsy, diabetes, clinical depression and other disabilities and sicknesses are a part of the will of God. God heals us from some disabilities and sicknesses, but not all of them because God loves us.

Joni Eareckson Tada is paralyzed from the neck down, married and in full-time Christian ministry. She and Steve Estes write in their book When God Weeps: Why Our Suffering Matters to the Almighty, "God uses affliction like a hammer and chisel, chipping and cutting to reveal his image in you. . . . God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in times of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character. It is a beautiful image!"

Elisha is a beautiful image. Elisha lived consistently in a golden state of mind, in the mind of the Messiah which is the mind of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. Even when be became sick Elisha was strong; He didn't hide himself and give up his ministry just because he had a big problem. Elisha didn't segregate himself into a special, separate ministry for the sick and disabled that was rarely included, involved and integrated with the larger society. Elisha interacted with all kinds of people. Elisha used his time wisely to know and to do what God asked him to; he was not shaken and swayed by popular opinion. Elisha prophesied to Jehoash king of Israel a victory over the Syrians. Instead of self-hatred, self-pity, shame and guilt about his sickness Elisha trusted in His God. Sickness did not spoil his relationships with God, himself or other people.

Elisha was so close and committed to God that even after he died of his sickness 2 Kings 13:21 says, "As a man was being buried [on an open bier], such a band was seen coming; and the man was cast into Elisha’s grave. And when the man being let down touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet."

Instead of focusing on our imperfections and inadequacies focus on the will of God and His ability to make a way at all times. Seek to leave a legacy beyond this life. Elisha did. Ephesians 5:17 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is." No time is a good time to wonder around aimlessly a bit blank regarding God's will for you.

Los creyentes son el ojo derecho de Dios (Believers are the right eye (the apple) of God's eye). Since God thinks the highest of us, loves us passionately and fills us with His wonderful love, we have what it takes to allow the love of God to pour out profusely perfecting us into people able to please God. Christian rapper Lecrae sings in his song "Don't Waste Your Life," "Magnify the Father." We cannot magnify the Father unless the Father lives in us. If you have the Father, you have the Son and Spirit. Like the Spirit lived in Joshua (Numbers 27:18), He also lived in Elisha empowering Elisha to magnify the Father right though sickness and death. Instead of wasting his life, Elisha has an eternal witness for God, and you can too.

What are some ways to avoid wasting your life living outside the will of God irregardless of the disabilities and abilities you possesses?

Monday, October 22, 2012

Fearless Sex

God designed spousal lovemaking to be un-self-conscious, unintimidated, fun and an essential part of forming a strong marital bond. Yet fearful sex is a big problem today among Christians and non-Christians despite the counsel of 2 Timothy 1:7 Amplified Bible: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control."

In Song of Solomon neither Solomon nor his Shulammite wife express a fear of marital lovemaking. They do not express a fear of dry vaginas, limp penises, premature ejaculation, the possibility of a bad or disappointing sexual experience, body inadequacy, looking bad, comparisons to other sexual experiences or new sexual experiences. Solomon's and his wife's conversation about fruit and gardens is abrir la puerta (opening the door) to the idea that marital lovemaking is making delicious. They have stripped off all of the reproach of Egypt (slavery to sin) an upbringing that taught sex is nasty and shameful.

Fear focuses us in on our self and our limits instead of focusing on giving a joyful experience to our lover. Believers are givers.

Fear focuses in on a negative and irrational mindset. Being naked and close with someone is a very vulnerable position easily squashed by a lover who points out areas of our body where we need to lose weight or describes them in unflattering ways. Confidence is encouraged by a lover who expresses craving instead of cringing to taste, touch, look, smell and hear a favorable response to making delicious. Instead of worrying about the size of your behind for downward rear entry why not think my husband is getting a glorious view of curves as he enters your vaginal portal to paradise? Many men prefer buttocks over breasts, and many women are not concerned with the size of their lover's penis. God made our bodies fearfully and wonderfully. Think of sex sweat as the dew of love and arousal scents as the aroma of love. Neither Solomon nor his wife criticize their own body or their spouse's body. Solomon says to his wife in Song of Solomon 4:7 New Living Translation Bible, "You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way."  The wife says to Solomon in Song of Solomon 1:16 New Living Translation Bible, "You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words! . . ." What words could you use to specifically describe your spouse's spectacular body?

Fast sex can be hot, but sometimes it's fear and a lack of self-control. Slowing down and savoring the experience is often better particularly for wives. No sense of rushing exists in Song of Solomon. These lovers seem to have all the time in the world to please each other.

Spouses, enjoy the whole experience of lovemaking in its many varieties of expression. No matter how much friction an orgasm doesn't always result from marital making delicious, and this can be wonderful too. Sex is more than an orgasm. Solomon says to his wife in Song of Solomon 4:11 New Living Translation Bible, "Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. . ." His wife says in Song of Solomon 2:3 New Living Translation Bible, "Like the finest apple tree in the orchard is my lover among other young men. I sit in his delightful shade and taste his delicious fruit."

If you are having partner sex and not married, being afraid is logical because you are sharing the most intimate part of you with someone who isn't committed to you. Singles, celebrate your body with God your Ishi (Husband).

What other fears threaten holy lovemaking?

Sunday, October 21, 2012

The Love of Her Life

When you are in love you have to talk about your loved one (if you can talk) and communicate in multiple ways with him or her frequently. Luke 2:38 Amplified Bible says, "And she too came up at that same hour, and she returned thanks to God and talked of [Jesus] to all who were looking for the redemption (deliverance) of Jerusalem."

The prophetess Ann was ecstatic about God. She was a widow for 84 years, and night and day she spent her time in the temple communicating with God. She couldn't get enough of Him.

God likes passionate lovers. He wants us to seek Him out with abundant energy, perpetually excited to find out every possible detail about Him. Ephesians 5:10 Amplified Bible says, "And try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him]."

Working in a church building full-time is not necessarily indicative of a red-hot love affair with God. God wants fiery, sizzling love with all believers. How could we not be turned on by Him, the one who is three in one (God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit)? And if that weren't enough to explore Revelation 1:4 Amplified Bible says, "John to the seven assemblies (churches) that are in Asia: May grace (God’s unmerited favor) be granted to you and spiritual peace (the peace of Christ’s kingdom) from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] before His throne."

Praying and fasting can be intimate. While God knows everything about us He still wants us to voluntarily share ourselves with Him. We don't have to hide anything from God. How freeing and fantastic to be in a relationship with someone who totally understands us and is more for us than we are for our self. How reassuring that there is someone who will never reject us and that finds us so wonderful that He is always willing to communicate with us and about us with the Godhead. God has to talk about us! We need never think that we are alone, alienated and abandoned. God abounds with affection for believers and an ability to keep us in eternal, loving relationship with Him.

What are some of your favorite experiences with God in prayer and fasting?  

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Goodness Comes Back to Us

Mordecai discovered a plot to kill King Ahasuerus/Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia (Esther 2). He informed Queen Esther (who was his uncle's daughter), who informed King Ahasuerus, and the would-be assassins, Bigthana and Teresh, were brought to justice and hanged.

Then Mordecai's good deed was forgotten, but not forever.

Meanwhile Mordecai kept on doing good. He also didn't swell up with a superior-than-others attitude or shrink into self-pity because he was not receiving the recognition due him.

God is just. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:25 Amplified Bible, "So also, good deeds are evident and conspicuous, and even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden [indefinitely]." Mordecai's good deed had been written down in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia. One night King Ahasuerus couldn't sleep (Esther 6). So he got up and read the book and was reminded about Mordecai's good deed. Later he honored Mordecai.

Mordecai was a man of God. "When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Proverbs 16:7 Amplified Bible).

King Ahaserus made Mordecai's enemy, Haman, to honor Mordecai for reporting the king's would-be assassins to the authorities in the splashy way that Haman thought he should be honored.

Maybe you are putting more effort into a relationship than you are receiving? Don't worry if you are doing good, but honor doesn't seem to be coming to you. Mordecai protected his king, his queen, his nation and his family through the reporting of the would-be assassins of the king and other good deeds. God knew how to please and honor Mordecai in the perfect timing and way for Mordecai's good deeds. Mordecai also became manager of Haman's estate and a leading ruler of the empire. Likewise in God's perfect timing and way He knows how to please and to honor you.

Please share an on-line comment about a good deed that was honored.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Novel Sex

Trying new things can be good. Solomon's Shulammite wife strove to try new types of lovemaking with Solomon. Together they enjoyed the old ways of mating while embracing the new. Novelty can be exciting, edifying and creative.

Our God is the Creator. He created sex and sexuality. We are made in God's image. We are also creators.

Some novelty is destructive; more than one million Americans went to a swingers club in 2011. Instead of swapping sex partners creative marital monogamy involves consistently growing in ways to make a spouse's life better. Figuring out new ways to bring sexual pleasure and other pleasure to a spouse is a ministry, a responsibility and a loving, beautiful joy.

Solomon's wife enjoyed getting naked in nature with Solomon. She says to Solomon in Song of Solomon 7:11-12 New Living Translation Bible, "Come, my love, let us go out to the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers. Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the grapevines have budded, if the blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love. There the mandrakes give off their fragrance, and the finest fruits are at our door, new delights as well as old, which I have saved for you, my lover." God built our beautiful bodies for love. Spouses, have fun customizing the missionary and downward rear entry. Strip off the "No es posible" attitude and the bad body image. Experiment with many of the hundreds of sexual positions.

Of course tender and talented marital lovemaking includes more than a husband going into his wife or a wife mounting her husband. Solomon and his wife enjoyed each others full body. Intimacy is:
Intentional,
Nurturing,
Talking,
Integration,
Mating,
Adoration,
Compassion,
Yearning.

While God designed partner sex for married couples only, God designed both spouses and singles to celebrate their sexuality. Inner beauty is holy, and so is looking good on the outside. Solomon says to his loved one in Song of Solomon 1:10 New Living Translation Bible, "How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck,  enhanced by a string of jewels."

What are some novel, Biblical, beautiful ways to express sex and sexuality?

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Discrimination

Zelophehad died without fathering any sons (Numbers 27). His inheritance was about to pass out of his family, but Tirzah, Milcah, Hoglah, Noah and Mahlah spoke up and said to Moses, Eleazar, other Israelite leaders and other people that's not right; our father's inheritance belongs to us. These daughters loved themselves and their family and friends by recognizing they needed to secure a place and provision of their own to nurture themselves, their families and friends.

Moses went to God to see if the Zelophehad daughters were being discriminated against and were due justice. God said yes; it's not right to let others have Zelophehad's inheritance because his offspring are females.

Our God often does things big. God didn't only correct this case of sexual discrimination. God also granted justice and protection to multiple members of families by saying in Numbers 27:8-11 New Living Translation Bible, "And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. But if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses." That made it impossible for a family to lose its inheritance.

Later on God manifested His plan of making it impossible for all believers to lose their spiritual inheritance. God made believers joint heirs with God the Son Jesus Christ for eternity. Pilate showed Barabbas partiality, and Jesus died. God didn't keep quiet about the wrong. Jesus Christ got up from the dead in three days granting forgiveness of sins and an eternal relationship with believers.

Speaking up is critical to improving relationships and living. Don't keep quiet about discrimination. Speak up. Proverbs 18:21 Amplified Bible says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]."

Please share an on-line comment about speaking out against discrimination. 

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Friends See Things We Don't

Moses was a great leader for God. God selected Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery to the mighty Egyptian nation and into the wilderness to worship the Lord. Yet even great leaders are not perfect leaders.

We all need friends who have a relationship with God. God reveals, and friends see things that we don't that help us and others to experience better relationships and living. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law and friend, saw that Moses needed to assign some of his work to others, and he advised Moses to do so (Exodus 18).

Moses accepted the advice, and a whole nation experienced better relationships as a consequence. Leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens and the people of Israel lived more like what pleases God because many leaders used the talents God gave them to help people to hear the Word of God, to enter and to grow in relationship with God, to apply the Word of God to their lives and to resolve more disputes than what could be solved by one person thus encouraging more harmonious and intimate relationships with God and people.

What godly revelation has a friend seen in your life that improved a relationship?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Protect, Nurture, Respect

Love protects, nurtures and respects. Onan could have protected, nurtured and respected himself, Tamar, Judah, Shelah and other family and friends by saying no to marrying Tamar (Genesis 38). Onan didn't love Tamar, and his lack of love was revealed.

Onan's older brother, Er, was first married to Tamar, but Er died without having a child with Tamar. Judah, Onan's father, asked Onan to marry Tamar. Onan said yes to marrying Tamar while his heart said no. After the marriage began Onan refused to become a good husband. Onan denied Tamar satisfying sex, children, love and respect. He was not her best friend and advocate, tender cultivator of creative and compassionate ways to make her life the best life possible. There was a lack of wonder at being married and free to kiss places previously hidden, a lack of yearning to taste and touch Tamar, a lack of excitement to enter her mound of wheat bordered by lilies holding the promise of a portal to paradise. With Onan martial sex was perfunctory instead of pleasing. Genesis 38:9 New Living Translation Bible says, "But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with his brother's wife, he spilled the semen on the ground. This prevented her from having a child who would belong to his brother."

Tamar had sex appeal; later Onan's father, Judah, went into her. Onan didn't appreciate Tamar's sexuality because Onan was sexually sinning.

Since Onan decided to say yes to marrying Tamar instead of no he had an obligation to respect her, to love her, to become a good husband to her. Whatever it took to change his heart, to get over Tamar having been his older brother's wife, Onan needed to work with God, and do it. The disgust and hatred he showed Tamar displeased God. God likes joyful, loving, sexually beautiful marriages.

Also God had a bigger plan for Onan's and Tamar's marriage than their personal happiness. The Christ's natural descent was to come through the offspring of Judah of which Onan was one. So Onan's sex practices were getting in God's way. Since Onan refused to change God put Onan out of the way. Tamar became a widow again. Judah lost another son. Shelah lost another brother. Family and friends lost a loved one.

What else could Onan have done toward a good destiny?

Monday, October 15, 2012

Beneficial Connections

Sometimes we may lack something we need and wonder if God really cares about us.

God could have sent the prophet Elijah to anyone in the world, but the Bible book 1 Kings chapter 17 records that God chose to send Elijah to a widow and her son in Zarephath, Sidon, who were in danger of starvation only having enough food for one meal. The widow and her son were not the only ones in Zarephath who needed help. Why did God choose this family?

God sends right people at the right time to the right place to bring about good through those who trust Him. When Elijah showed up, the widow and her son received him. Receiving God's prophets and other leaders is beneficial; it's receiving God who is goodness. God changed the widow's and her son's last meal into a continual source of food.

Do you need a beneficial connection? Talk to God. He is willing and able to provide. He cares about us and everything that concerns us. No detail anywhere escapes His attention. Then tell us about it on-line to strengthen, encourage and comfort people.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Bad and Beloved

Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. How sexually impure! Yet God also named him Jedidiah (Beloved of the Lord/2 Samuel 12:25). God knew Solomon's total person and everything he would ever do in his life before he did it, and yet He still named him Beloved of the Lord.

God sees the best in believers. He doesn't want us to get entangled in sexual sin or any other sin, but sin cannot erase His high opinion of us, His passionate love for us.

God is Holy. Whatever comes to your mind when you hear the word "holy" with God it is not harshness, coldness or ugliness. God is immeasurably, totally, ecstatically in love with His people. He doesn't want us to begin or to try to maintain our relationship with Him by attempting to follow a bunch of rules in our own strength. God wants us to continuously receive Him in love, and let His love flow in us motivating and empowering us to behave in ways that please Him. We do things for people we love that we would never do for anyone else.

Loving God is a consuming relationship. The Apostle Paul found his relationship with God so consuming, that he chose not to marry and to recommend singleness for others. Yet he also said that marriage is good and spouses should love each other intensely. It's difficult to love God and to love a spouse properly and passionately, but it can be done with God's leading if He has designed us for marriage.

One spouse is more than enough. Only so many hours in a day exist to cherish a spouse and fulfill all our responsibilities. Solomon attempted marital relations with 1,000 women! Some spouses may not have even received so much as a hello daily, weekly or even for longer stretches of time. This is not the intimacy of marriage that is described in Ephesians 5:33 Amplified Bible which says, "However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]."

God wants the best for us as singles or married people. He has a certain way of meeting our needs and many of our wants in relationships. Practice meditating on the love of God. Enjoy your relationship with God. Real love comes with real satisfaction in Him and others. Solomon is beloved of the Lord as are are all His people. In what ways are you beloved of God?

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Sleeping With the Enemy

Ephesians 5:17 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is." God wants us to love Him, ourselves and others. God created sex and sexuality. What God creates is good, very good provided it's used according to His instructions.

When we are thoughtful, alert and sensitive to the leading of God the Holy Ghost we will carefully protect and cherish our whole person. When we are asleep spiritually we get into bed with the enemy. The Bible book of Judges records that Samson was a believer who was sexually confused, sleeping with the enemy. Here are four ways Samson was not thoughtful, alert and sensitive to God.

1. Companionship in the spirit: 

God designed for both husband and wife to be believers with an equal relationship with God. Samson was having sex with Deliliah, but he was not married to her. Samson was a worshiper of the one and only true and living God. Delilah probably worshiped Dagon. Samson and Delilah had nothing in common spiritually. They could not have companionship and unity spiritually because the spiritual source upon which their lifestyle was based were in conflict and opposition. 

2. Intellectual agreement: 

Relationships help us fulfill our God-given purpose in life. Sexuality is designed to reproduce a legacy of life, of multiplication. Samson had a pattern of choosing sexual partners who betrayed him to his enemies. His relationships brought destruction instead of multiplication.

Believers value freedom. Delilah talked repeatedly about bondage.

Believers affirm each other consistently. Delilah attacked Samson relentlessly.

Believers seek to help self and others. Delilah sought money for herself at the expense of Samson.

Believers seek the truth. Delilah lied.

Believers practice love with true affection. Delilah practiced false compassion.

3. Emotional encouragement: 

Joy and peace are experienced in good relationships. Samson experienced insults, harassment and other emotional torment in his relationship with Delilah.

4. Healthy physical bodies: 

God designed sex inside of marriage to be pleasurable and good for us. While Samson experienced moments of pleasure the end result of sex with Delilah was that he had his strength stripped and his enemies were empowered to bore out his eyes and put him in bondage.

Sometimes we attract enemies because they are persecuting us for right living, but Samson attracted enemies because he was an enemy to himself living sexually according to the ways of evil. He was asleep to the sexual ways of God.

Believers have God on the inside to empower us to stay awake and live well. No time is a good time to be vague and sleepy about our relationship with God and His will for us. The evil enemy is always seeking to seduce you to sleep with him.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Skillful Lover

Jesus doesn't just want authority over your spirit. He also wants authority over your intellect, emotions and physical body -- all of you. Not the authority of domination and subjugation but of love. He is the most skillful lover who desires to bring you to the climax of being the best you -- the you that is filled, overflowing with the love of God confident and capable fully male or female living in thriving relationships. When God's love is flowing in you like this a slice of Scripture in Ephesians chapter 3 the Message Bible says, "God can do anything, you know -- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us."

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Relationship Foundation

God is one of a kind. He lives in harmonious relationship -- God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. We are each one of a kind. Even twins do not have the same fingerprints. God designed believers to become more like Him and for harmonious relationships.

While believers will not experience becoming fully like God and living in harmony in all our relationships in this life, we will experience more of God's best when we are led by Him instead of being led by formulas, rituals and other means of applying the Bible to relationships and life.

God has always chosen to be in relationship with believers. Believers receive Him. God is the foundation from which we build relationships.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

God and Sexuality

Celebrate femininity and masculinity. Genesis 1:27 reveals that God made our sexuality to show something about Him. Sexuality is spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical. Whether we are single or married we have it at all times. Partner sex is for a husband and wife only. God gave us the Holy Spirit to empower believers to manage their sexuality and keep it within the boundaries of the love of God.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Helpful

We cannot do what God called us to do by ourselves. God seeks to be our best friend, and He designed for us to also have human friends. One of the things friends do is they help each other in a wide variety of ways. 2 Timothy 1:16-18 says that Onesiphorus was such a friend to the Apostle Paul helping him to get through an adverse time in his life. Delight in finding out what help your friends need and how you can help, then help.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Thankful

Cooperate with God to allow your heart to overflow with thanksgiving for the relationships in your life. Another person's relationships may seem better, but don't covet them. Happiness isn't found in coveting. Covetousness can take multiple forms. God loves us and says in Exodus 20:17 to stay away from covetousness.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Wonderful

Sometimes it feels so comfortable to lie in bed enfolded in sheets and blankets resting not too hot not too cold talking to God that we don't want to get up. But arising holds something wonderful too -- opportunities to share the love of God. God's love for us is so immense that it seeks to overflow out of believers to others. It even flows back to us from other believers. And it's eternal!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Dreams Come True

Joseph was 17 and a shepherd in Canaan when Genesis 37 records that God gave him dreams of ruling over his brothers and ruling over a large universe. When God spoke to Joseph, Joseph was not in a position to fulfill his dreams.

God often gives dreams that don't match our current reality. One of His desires is that we learn to put our ultimate trust in Him instead of our abilities or other peoples' abilities to fulfill dreams.

Through the changes of life trust God. Joseph did while going through a number of changes to go from shepherd in Canaan to governor of Egypt. Stay in communication and connection with God. God is for believers. Don't worry about Him. He always loves us. When God gives dreams, He is willing and able to make them come to pass.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Got a Past?

Husband and wife Isaac and Rebekah moved to Gerar in Genesis 26. Isaac lied to the men of Gerar by saying that Rebekah was his sister. Isaac lied because he was afraid that Rebekah's beauty would inspire them to kill her husband, so that they could have sexual relations with her.

Everyone has done many things wrong. Lying is wrong, but God forgives and is willing to change us and bless us. Genesis 26 also records that Isaac went on to sow seed and harvest 100 times as much as he planted. Isaac became so rich that people envied him. God is our friend. He's a good friend. God is for believers every day. Stay in communication and connection with Him to get up from bad behavior/situations and move forward.

Don't let your past hold you back from present and future change and blessings. A Japanese proverb says, "Fall down seven times, get up eight times."

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Favor

Accept that everything is not ideal. We are not perfect yet, neither are the people we are in relationship with. Offer favor instead of faultfinding.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Rejoice

Believers have God the Holy Spirit living on the inside. Talk to God about thought patterns that are negative. Philippians 4:4 Amplified Bible counsels us, "Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!" While everyone will not like us, joyful people have better relationships.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Respect and Value

Romans 12:18 Amplified Bible says, "If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." One aspect of peace is to respect and value people. God created each person in His image whether rich or poor or possessing some other quality. Each person has value and is to be respected. Operating in value and respect will bring more value and respect into our lives.