"In James 4:3, the Bible says we pray for blessings and don't get them because we've asked with evil, selfish motives. We want the blessing to be for ourselves exclusively. Instead, let's ask God to bless us so we can be a greater blessing. We might say, "God, bless me. Do something amazing in my finances. Get me to the point where I can buy somebody a car. Get me to the point, God, where if need be, I could rent an apartment for someone who doesn't have one and pay the rent for a year until she gets on her feet." Wouldn't that be wonderful? Or you might pray, "Help me, God, to be able to buy furniture for a family who doesn't have any. Help me be able to take them to a furniture store and just say, 'Here's your budget; pick out a house full of furniture.'" writes international, practical Bible teacher Joyce Meyer in her book Joy Redefined Loving Others.
God is not against people having pleasure. God desires that creyentes (believers) give and receive pleasure. George Washington Carver worked for Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute. They were both committed to helping people, especially African Americans. Washington died before Carver. Carver gave one year's salary to Booker T. Washington's memorial fund. Carver says about this generous gift, "It was a sacrifice in one way but a blessed privilege in another."
Unbelievers recognize the pleasure of giving. Meng was the prime minister of King Qin in ancient China. Meng sent his advisor Feng out to collect debts. Feng forgave all the loans of villagers saying he was doing it on orders from Meng. At first Meng was mad, but one year later Meng was merry for Meng had trouble on the job and had to return to his home village. People were glad to see him and welcomed him. Meng praised Feng.
Use money to make friends. Jesus Christ says in Luke 16:9 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960, "Y yo os digo: Ganad amigos por medio de las riquezas injustas, para que cuando estas falten, os reciban en las moradas eternas." "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.) Luke 16:9 New Living Translation Bible says, "Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home."
What are some compassionate, creative and committed ways you have used money to make friends?
Showing posts with label Creativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Creativity. Show all posts
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
A Breath of Fresh Air
More than 30 men employed by the Cleveland Waterworks Company were at work in a tunnel about 250 feet below Lake Erie on July 15, 1916, when an explosion ripped through the area trapping the men in the tunnel and filling the air with deadly gases. Rescue workers arrived immediately, but the dense smoke prevented them from entering the tunnel. They didn't know from who to get help.
Inspiration came when someone remembered Garrett Morgan. Morgan had won a grand prize at a New York Safety and Sanitation Fair for a gas mask he invented.
Using Morgan's gas mask, the workers were freed from the tunnel.
News of the rescue traveled. Fire departments across America wanted Morgan's gas mask. Orders poured in until people found out that Morgan was black. Then business dropped off.
Christian Minister and Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated April 4th, 45 years ago, said in his I Have a Dream speech, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Proverbios 18:16 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "La dadiva del hombre le ensancha el camino y le lleva delante de los grandes." Proverbs 18:16 Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men."
In 1917 America entered World War I. Thousands of American soldiers used Morgan's gas mask to protect themselves from the enemy's deadly chlorine gas.
People probably faced fear when the Cleveland tunnel explosion happened and no way appeared to rescue those trapped. Morgan probably faced fear when business for his gas mask dropped when people found out that he was black. Many people have faced fear in the midst of crises and other difficult situations.
A Chinese proverb says, "Use incidents from the past as lessons for the future." Crisis need not stop commitment to self and social development. With courage and creativity Morgan didn't stop when crisis came into his life, and neither do you have to. He kept on perfecting his gas mask, developed other inventions and founded the Cleveland Call newspaper to improve media coverage of African Americans.
Creyentes (believers) have the power of the Creator of the Universe living inside of us. Be confidant in crisis. God will accomplish all His will. Psalm 115:2-3 Amplified Bible says, "Why should the nations say, Where is now their God? But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases." What is something that please God? -- that good overcome evil.
Inspiration came when someone remembered Garrett Morgan. Morgan had won a grand prize at a New York Safety and Sanitation Fair for a gas mask he invented.
Using Morgan's gas mask, the workers were freed from the tunnel.
News of the rescue traveled. Fire departments across America wanted Morgan's gas mask. Orders poured in until people found out that Morgan was black. Then business dropped off.
Christian Minister and Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated April 4th, 45 years ago, said in his I Have a Dream speech, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Proverbios 18:16 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "La dadiva del hombre le ensancha el camino y le lleva delante de los grandes." Proverbs 18:16 Bilingual Bible New King James Version says, "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men."
In 1917 America entered World War I. Thousands of American soldiers used Morgan's gas mask to protect themselves from the enemy's deadly chlorine gas.
People probably faced fear when the Cleveland tunnel explosion happened and no way appeared to rescue those trapped. Morgan probably faced fear when business for his gas mask dropped when people found out that he was black. Many people have faced fear in the midst of crises and other difficult situations.
A Chinese proverb says, "Use incidents from the past as lessons for the future." Crisis need not stop commitment to self and social development. With courage and creativity Morgan didn't stop when crisis came into his life, and neither do you have to. He kept on perfecting his gas mask, developed other inventions and founded the Cleveland Call newspaper to improve media coverage of African Americans.
Creyentes (believers) have the power of the Creator of the Universe living inside of us. Be confidant in crisis. God will accomplish all His will. Psalm 115:2-3 Amplified Bible says, "Why should the nations say, Where is now their God? But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases." What is something that please God? -- that good overcome evil.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Have You Tried Chinese Pillow Books?
A Mali proverbs says, "If you want sex while traveling, travel with your wife." Spicy sex is for spouses. Proverbs 5:18-19 Amplified Bible says, "Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant doe [tender, gentle, attractive]—let her bosom satisfy you at all times, and always be transported with delight in her love."
When a spouse has to travel solo, send him or her off with lots of love and some of your custom-made, Chinese pillow books. Some spouses like to create scrapbooks. Why not expand into creating your own Chinese pillow book? Chinese pillow books are small, sex-instruction manuals, each on a specific topic with illustrations. You can include erotic poems written by you or someone else, pressed flowers, cards, mementos, clippings from magazines and/or books with your notes, prose of your own on special paper and whatever you and your spouse enjoy. Books can be titled Touch Me Like This, Play Time, Hot Dates, Beautiful Butts, Fellatio, Cunnilingus, Intercourse Positions or something in a code known only to each other.
Sex is good. Sex is created by God. Sometimes people abuse or fail to appreciate God's creative work. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Amplified Bible says, "But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast."
Hermes Alberto Carvajal writes in his blog Palabras Que Fortalecen Words That Give Strength in his article "5 cosas que crean conflictos entre hombres y mujeres," "Los hombres odian que invadan su espacio." Women generally like to talk more than men. However, husbands hopefully will not feel that their space is invaded by wives who prepare a lot of Chinese pillow books for their husbands and practice the advice frequently.
When a spouse has to travel solo, send him or her off with lots of love and some of your custom-made, Chinese pillow books. Some spouses like to create scrapbooks. Why not expand into creating your own Chinese pillow book? Chinese pillow books are small, sex-instruction manuals, each on a specific topic with illustrations. You can include erotic poems written by you or someone else, pressed flowers, cards, mementos, clippings from magazines and/or books with your notes, prose of your own on special paper and whatever you and your spouse enjoy. Books can be titled Touch Me Like This, Play Time, Hot Dates, Beautiful Butts, Fellatio, Cunnilingus, Intercourse Positions or something in a code known only to each other.
Sex is good. Sex is created by God. Sometimes people abuse or fail to appreciate God's creative work. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Amplified Bible says, "But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast."
Hermes Alberto Carvajal writes in his blog Palabras Que Fortalecen Words That Give Strength in his article "5 cosas que crean conflictos entre hombres y mujeres," "Los hombres odian que invadan su espacio." Women generally like to talk more than men. However, husbands hopefully will not feel that their space is invaded by wives who prepare a lot of Chinese pillow books for their husbands and practice the advice frequently.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
No Ordinary Love
Christopher ("Christ-bearer") Yuan writes in his book, Out Of A Far Country, co-authored with his mother, Angela Yuan, "As I continued to read the Bible, I came across Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 (NASB)--passages normally used to condemn gays and lesbians to a fiery fate. "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." But I realized that God didn't call lesbians and gay men abominations He called it an abomination. What God condemned was the act, not the person. For so long, I had gotten the message from the Christian protestors at gay-pride parades that the God of the Bible hated people like me, because we were abominations. But after reading these passages, I saw that God didn't hate me; nor was he condemning me to an inescapable destiny of torment. But rather, it was the sex he condemned, and yet he still wanted an intimate relationship with me."
Not only does God want an intimate relationship with lesbians and gay men, He wants an intimate relationship with everyone who will receive God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost (1 X 1 X 1 = 1). God wants Colossians 1:4 Amplified Bible to be true of all believers (saints): "For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] and of the love which you [have and show] for all the saints (God’s consecrated ones)."
Avoid segregating the sexes. The more each us knows the truth about sexuality, the more we know about God, who is the Truth. God on purpose made people male and female to show qualities God possesses. Genesis 1:27 Nueva Traducción Viviente dice, "Así que Dios creó a los seres humanos a su propia imagen. A imagen de Dios los creó; hombre y mujer los creó." Genesis 1:27 English Standard Version says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Instead of hiding sexuality, celebrate it in holiness. Colossians 1:10-11 Amplified Bible is a prayer to God for both singles and married people: "That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy."
Some singles do not persevere in singleness. A proverb from Ethiopia and Kenya says, "Hasty marriages bring hasty divorces." Enjoy lots of relationships with both men and women. Spending lots of time together is a good way to learn to love people in the way they really liked to be loved. Single or married God uses relationships to remove selfishness from us.
Bishop T.D. Jakes says in his sermon, "Love Story," "Marriage does not work until a man dies. There's a wild nature in him that has to die, and every now and then it kicks up. And you got to kill it again. And if you don't kill it, it will destroy what you got." Jakes goes on to say in "Love Story," "Christ gave Himself. Let the men say, 'Give it up.'"
Wives too have to give it up in order to love their husbands the way their husbands want to be loved. More men than women enjoy strippers. Instead of sexual immorality, why not put together a strip tease for your husband only with props particular to his tastes and perhaps ben wa, or Oriental love balls, into your vagina to stimulate you for what's coming?
What are some out-of-the-ordinary things you have done for love?
Not only does God want an intimate relationship with lesbians and gay men, He wants an intimate relationship with everyone who will receive God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost (1 X 1 X 1 = 1). God wants Colossians 1:4 Amplified Bible to be true of all believers (saints): "For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] and of the love which you [have and show] for all the saints (God’s consecrated ones)."
Avoid segregating the sexes. The more each us knows the truth about sexuality, the more we know about God, who is the Truth. God on purpose made people male and female to show qualities God possesses. Genesis 1:27 Nueva Traducción Viviente dice, "Así que Dios creó a los seres humanos a su propia imagen. A imagen de Dios los creó; hombre y mujer los creó." Genesis 1:27 English Standard Version says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Instead of hiding sexuality, celebrate it in holiness. Colossians 1:10-11 Amplified Bible is a prayer to God for both singles and married people: "That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy."
Some singles do not persevere in singleness. A proverb from Ethiopia and Kenya says, "Hasty marriages bring hasty divorces." Enjoy lots of relationships with both men and women. Spending lots of time together is a good way to learn to love people in the way they really liked to be loved. Single or married God uses relationships to remove selfishness from us.
Bishop T.D. Jakes says in his sermon, "Love Story," "Marriage does not work until a man dies. There's a wild nature in him that has to die, and every now and then it kicks up. And you got to kill it again. And if you don't kill it, it will destroy what you got." Jakes goes on to say in "Love Story," "Christ gave Himself. Let the men say, 'Give it up.'"
Wives too have to give it up in order to love their husbands the way their husbands want to be loved. More men than women enjoy strippers. Instead of sexual immorality, why not put together a strip tease for your husband only with props particular to his tastes and perhaps ben wa, or Oriental love balls, into your vagina to stimulate you for what's coming?
What are some out-of-the-ordinary things you have done for love?
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