The United States Supreme Court 1927 Buck v. Bell decision allows states to sterilize people. At age 17 Carrie Buck was pregnant as the result of rape. She was declared incompetent and forcibly sterilized.
It wasn't until 1979 that Virginia repealed the sterilization act that made Buck's sterilization possible. Unlike North Carolina, Virginia victims of state-sponsored sterilization are not scheduled to receive financial compensation.
Elaine Riddick is one who fought for financial compensation to victims of North Carolina state-sponsored sterilization. Riddick was raped too.
How many state-sponsored sterilizations were done to victims of rape and other crimes?
An apology to victims of state-sponsored sterilization is not enough and does not meet the Biblical standard of love. Romans 13:7-10 Amplified Bible says, "Render to all men their dues. [Pay] taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due. Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one’s fellowmen, meeting all its requirements]. The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. Love does no wrong to one’s neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law."
So far North Carolina is the only US state set to give due revenue to victims of state-sponsored sterilization. However, more than 30 states participated in state-sponsored sterilization.
Also other nations, such as China, have state-sponsored sterilization.
Unjust deeds are surrounded by other unjust deeds. Buck and Riddick were raped and then sterilized. Cristin Gilbert was raped and may have also not consented to an abortion that killed her and her child; Cristin Gilbert had Down's Syndrome. Should people who do not consent to an abortion be financially compensated?
Love is not automatic. Un dicho (a proverb) says, "Clamor del pueblo sube al cielo" ("The outcry of a people rises to heaven.") Share prayers and good deeds done in your state or area of residence to move along efforts to compensate victims of government-sponsored sterilization? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on http://www.Twitter.com/Michelelove30.
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Good Relationships
Jesus Christ wants His people to have good relationships. Think and pray about those things that promote good relationships.
We live in times where good and evil are deliberately being mixed up by the enemies of good. Thinking and praying are essential for good relationships.
We live in times where good and evil are deliberately being mixed up by the enemies of good. Thinking and praying are essential for good relationships.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Big-Hearted Is Best For All People
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Amplified Bible says, "As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment. [Charge them] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to share [with others], In this way laying up for themselves [the riches that endure forever as] a good foundation for the future, so that they may grasp that which is life indeed." Mary Church Terrell was born into a family of wealth. Her father, Robert Church, although born a slave became the South's first African American millionaire. Instead of leading a life of pride, arrogance and contempt for others, Mary Church Terrell led a life of good works.
Terrell was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a speaker, writer and activist for freedom and equal rights for African Americans and for women of all races. Terrell was big-hearted. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were black leaders with different views on how to achieve African American progress. Terrell saw merit and areas of disagreement in both perspectives; yet she helped both men.
She also was a married woman who helped women of all races. Terrell worked with suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt. After American women gained the right to vote in 1920 Terrell organized women to become active in the Republican Party and in international groups. Terrell said, "We believe we can build the foundation of the next generation upon such a rock of morality, intelligence, and strength, that the floods of proscription, prejudice and persecution may descend upon it in torrents and yet it will not be moved."
While everyone will not be materially wealthy, God calls everyone to be big-hearted. Proscription, prejudice and persecution are heart problems. The remedy is the love of God living on the inside of creyentes (believers) and overflowing on the outside. 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 Amplified Bible says about love, "Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing. Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."
The enemy of love, Satan, is always working to make our hearts small. While American women got the vote in 1920, in 1924 the US Immigration Act shut down almost all immigration from Asia and in 1973 the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision stole the right to life from unborn girls and unborn boys.
A Chinese proverb says, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." The US House of Representatives lit a candle recently by passing the Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act which protects the life of unborn girls and unborn boys age 20 weeks and older. The Senate also lit a candle by passing immigration reform.
Un dicho says, "Clamor del pueblo sube al cielo" ("The outcry of a people rises to heaven.")
Now is a good time to pray passionately to God that the Senate will pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the House will pass immigration reform and President Barak Obama will sign both into law.
Terrell was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a speaker, writer and activist for freedom and equal rights for African Americans and for women of all races. Terrell was big-hearted. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were black leaders with different views on how to achieve African American progress. Terrell saw merit and areas of disagreement in both perspectives; yet she helped both men.
She also was a married woman who helped women of all races. Terrell worked with suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt. After American women gained the right to vote in 1920 Terrell organized women to become active in the Republican Party and in international groups. Terrell said, "We believe we can build the foundation of the next generation upon such a rock of morality, intelligence, and strength, that the floods of proscription, prejudice and persecution may descend upon it in torrents and yet it will not be moved."
While everyone will not be materially wealthy, God calls everyone to be big-hearted. Proscription, prejudice and persecution are heart problems. The remedy is the love of God living on the inside of creyentes (believers) and overflowing on the outside. 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 Amplified Bible says about love, "Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing. Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."
The enemy of love, Satan, is always working to make our hearts small. While American women got the vote in 1920, in 1924 the US Immigration Act shut down almost all immigration from Asia and in 1973 the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision stole the right to life from unborn girls and unborn boys.
A Chinese proverb says, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." The US House of Representatives lit a candle recently by passing the Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act which protects the life of unborn girls and unborn boys age 20 weeks and older. The Senate also lit a candle by passing immigration reform.
Un dicho says, "Clamor del pueblo sube al cielo" ("The outcry of a people rises to heaven.")
Now is a good time to pray passionately to God that the Senate will pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the House will pass immigration reform and President Barak Obama will sign both into law.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Generosity Or Greed?
The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are Christian ideals that are rooted in the love of God and stated in the American Declaration of Independence. Gospel Singer Anita Wilson sings in the song "Shower The People" on her album Worship Soul, "Just shower the people you love with love. Show them the way that you feel. Things are goin' work out fine if you only will do as I say. Shower the people you love with love. Show them the way that you feel. Things are goin' to be much better if you only will."
God loves His friends and His foes and wants His creyentes (believers) to also love friends and foes. Some foes turn out to be friends.
America is filled with creyentes, but sometimes in America's past and present we have had trouble loving people like God does. The 1913 California Alien Land Law prevented people who were not citizens or not eligible to become citizens from owing land. At the time most Asian Americans were prevented by law from becoming citizens.
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "Que lindo es vivir para amar; que grande es tener para dar" ("How beautiful it is to live and love; how great it is to have and give.") Jesus Christ warns us against greediness when He says in Luke 12:15 New Living Translation, "...“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”"
God teaches us to be generous to the oppressed and others. Some people leave their country because of hostility at home. Actor and Activist Christian Bale attempted unsuccessfully in 2011 to visit Chen Guangcheng, a human-rights lawyer, in China when Chen Guangcheng was under house arrest for filing a 2005 class-action lawsuit against officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy. Chen Guangcheng left China in May 2012 and is now living in America. Christian Bale said when presenting Chen Guangcheng with a human rights award at the annual gala of Human Rights First, "He [Chen] had exposed a program of forced abortion and sterilization in Shandong. A program of forced abortion means that women are being dragged from their homes against their will. They are being forced to have abortions, sometimes late-term -- imagine that -- with some women reportedly dying in the process. Now this is true horror. And in this insane world, this man, Chen, who was helping these women -- who was living by some of the most simple, brave and universally admired values -- values that we teach our children every day, and helping our fellow man -- for this, this man was imprisoned and beaten for over four years."
God wants us spiritually, mentally, physically, financially -- in all ways -- to be like Him now and eternally. Pray for change in China. Pray also for countries globally to pass immigration, abortion and other laws that love a diversity of people. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Amplified Bible says, "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth."
God loves His friends and His foes and wants His creyentes (believers) to also love friends and foes. Some foes turn out to be friends.
America is filled with creyentes, but sometimes in America's past and present we have had trouble loving people like God does. The 1913 California Alien Land Law prevented people who were not citizens or not eligible to become citizens from owing land. At the time most Asian Americans were prevented by law from becoming citizens.
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "Que lindo es vivir para amar; que grande es tener para dar" ("How beautiful it is to live and love; how great it is to have and give.") Jesus Christ warns us against greediness when He says in Luke 12:15 New Living Translation, "...“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”"
God teaches us to be generous to the oppressed and others. Some people leave their country because of hostility at home. Actor and Activist Christian Bale attempted unsuccessfully in 2011 to visit Chen Guangcheng, a human-rights lawyer, in China when Chen Guangcheng was under house arrest for filing a 2005 class-action lawsuit against officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy. Chen Guangcheng left China in May 2012 and is now living in America. Christian Bale said when presenting Chen Guangcheng with a human rights award at the annual gala of Human Rights First, "He [Chen] had exposed a program of forced abortion and sterilization in Shandong. A program of forced abortion means that women are being dragged from their homes against their will. They are being forced to have abortions, sometimes late-term -- imagine that -- with some women reportedly dying in the process. Now this is true horror. And in this insane world, this man, Chen, who was helping these women -- who was living by some of the most simple, brave and universally admired values -- values that we teach our children every day, and helping our fellow man -- for this, this man was imprisoned and beaten for over four years."
God wants us spiritually, mentally, physically, financially -- in all ways -- to be like Him now and eternally. Pray for change in China. Pray also for countries globally to pass immigration, abortion and other laws that love a diversity of people. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Amplified Bible says, "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth."
Monday, June 17, 2013
Do We Believe In Proper Parenting?
"Honduras" means "depth" and is also the name of a country in Central America. Jesus Christ went to great depths to preach publicly and to practice good deeds publicly. He also went to great depths to get away from the public regularly to talk with God privately and to spend private time with his apostolic family.
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is intensely good. Satan is intensely evil. Satan seeks to split families in various ways. Jesus Chris says in Mark 3:25 Amplified Bible, "And if a house is divided (split into factions and rebelling) against itself, that house will not be able to last."
What are some lies Satan tells to motivate employers to demand too much time from employees? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
We need copious time with God, family and friends.
Ephesians 6:4 Amplified Bible says, "Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord." If dad is rarely present in relationships, how can he train, discipline and counsel his children?
Satan working through the Iranian government put Pastor and US Citizen Saeed Abedini in jail for his Christian faith and works. Pastor Saeed would like to be present with his family and serving as a Biblical father. We can help him by praying and by doing deeds to pressure Iran to release Pastor Saeed Abedini from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran.
A Chinese proverb says, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Sign the petition and write a letter to Pastor Abedini at the website http://www.savesaeed.org.
Workplace flexibility, such as one-year or more of paid leave, and global freedom to parent properly are possible. Proverbs 4:23 Amplified Bible says, "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." Saint Augustine, a North African bishop, said, "What can be hoped for which is not believed?"
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is intensely good. Satan is intensely evil. Satan seeks to split families in various ways. Jesus Chris says in Mark 3:25 Amplified Bible, "And if a house is divided (split into factions and rebelling) against itself, that house will not be able to last."
What are some lies Satan tells to motivate employers to demand too much time from employees? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
We need copious time with God, family and friends.
Ephesians 6:4 Amplified Bible says, "Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord." If dad is rarely present in relationships, how can he train, discipline and counsel his children?
Satan working through the Iranian government put Pastor and US Citizen Saeed Abedini in jail for his Christian faith and works. Pastor Saeed would like to be present with his family and serving as a Biblical father. We can help him by praying and by doing deeds to pressure Iran to release Pastor Saeed Abedini from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran.
A Chinese proverb says, "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Sign the petition and write a letter to Pastor Abedini at the website http://www.savesaeed.org.
Workplace flexibility, such as one-year or more of paid leave, and global freedom to parent properly are possible. Proverbs 4:23 Amplified Bible says, "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." Saint Augustine, a North African bishop, said, "What can be hoped for which is not believed?"
Friday, June 7, 2013
Anything Is Possible
In Mark chapter 9 of the Bible the story of a father who had a son with a dumb spirit that no one could cure is recorded. The father had sought various people to cure his son including Jesus Christ. Mark 9:23 Amplified Bible says, "And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!"
Jesus Christ was willing to heal his son, and He healed him.
China has a one child policy with forced abortions and forced sterilizations that's been going on since 1979. A Malagasy African proverb says, "Let not your love be like a torrent: heavy at first but swiftly abating." People have been trying to get rid of this policy and other human rights violations in China for a long time, and some still expect to see human rights flourishing in China.
"Anything is possible in this world," said Human Rights Activist Chen Guangcheng about such changes in China (Rosie Gray, BuzzFeed, "Chen Guangcheng: Chinese Government “In A State Of Madness,” May 14, 2013.)
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to what later became the US state of Texas. Tejas is based on a Native American word for friend.
A good friend prays for people in positions of power to do good. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Amplified Bible says, "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth."
Pray for US President Barak Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet today and tomorrow in California.
Share your prayers. Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
Jesus Christ was willing to heal his son, and He healed him.
China has a one child policy with forced abortions and forced sterilizations that's been going on since 1979. A Malagasy African proverb says, "Let not your love be like a torrent: heavy at first but swiftly abating." People have been trying to get rid of this policy and other human rights violations in China for a long time, and some still expect to see human rights flourishing in China.
"Anything is possible in this world," said Human Rights Activist Chen Guangcheng about such changes in China (Rosie Gray, BuzzFeed, "Chen Guangcheng: Chinese Government “In A State Of Madness,” May 14, 2013.)
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to what later became the US state of Texas. Tejas is based on a Native American word for friend.
A good friend prays for people in positions of power to do good. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Amplified Bible says, "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth."
Pray for US President Barak Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet today and tomorrow in California.
Share your prayers. Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Chen Guangcheng Doesn't Settle For Less Than The Best, Why Should You?
God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost is a God of excellence and completion. He doesn't want us to behave halfheartedly and haphazardly toward Him or toward other people. Luke 10:27 Amplified Bible says, "And he replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." 3 John 1:2 Complete Jewish Bible says, "Dear friend, I am praying that everything prosper with you and that you be in good health, as I know you are prospering spiritually."
Creyentes (believers) are reinas y reyes (queens and kings.) We are valuable and deserve outstanding treatment both male and female and of whatever racial, ethnic or other background. Satan wants us to think small and settle for less than God's best.
For years abolitionists and women's rights activists worked together supporting each others causes. Yet when the Fifteenth amendment was ratified in 1870 effectively extending the right to vote to African American men and other men of color, some wanted women to suck it up and shut up about their lack of a right to vote.
Abolitionists and women's rights activists like Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others said we are going to stand up and to continue to seek all that is due us.
Christopher Yuan, who used to practice homosexual sex and is now a celibate, public speaker for Jesus Christ says that unconditional love is not unconditional acceptance of bad behavior.
Are you refusing to deal with bad behavior in a relationship? God doesn't settle for less than the best. God cares enough about us to bring His best out of us and in our relationships.
About one year ago the US and China agreed to allow Chen Guangcheng, his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children to leave China and to come to the United States. China agreed not to harass or to harm the Chen Guangcheng family still in China. In 2005 Guangcheng, a blind, self-taught lawyer, filed a class action lawsuit against local government authorities involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one child policy. He was put in jail then in house arrest in Shandong, China.
Guangcheng, Weijing, their son and their daughter are in the United States now, but Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, was arrested shortly after Guangcheng left China last spring after Chinese authorities burst into his house, and he attempted to defend himself. Chen Kegui is currently in jail and has not been taken to a hospital for treatment of acute appendicitis. Chen Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin. Last Thursday morning Guangcheng's brother, Chen Guangfu, was beat up by unidentified men who stopped him while he was riding his electric bike, which they destroyed. Other acts violence have been perpetrated against the Chen family since Chen Guangcheng came to America last year.
In addition to testifying before Congress on April 9, 2013, Chen Guangcheng and others have been speaking and seeking to get China to honor all of their side of the agreement that allowed Guangcheng to leave China while bringing attention to forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one child policy and other human rights abuses in China.
One of Guangcheng's friends is Bo Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid. They have been meeting with members of Congress. They reaped some fruit from their labors when a letter dated May 13, 2013, was sent to Secretary of State John Kerry signed by both House Speaker John Boehner and Minority leader Nancy Pelosi as well as six other senior Republican and Democratic members of Congress including Chris Smith, Frank Wolf, Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, Joseph Crowley, James McGovern and Rick Larsen.
Some of the things the letter urges US Secretary of State John Kerry to obtain are:
1) medical treatment for Chen Kegui
2) medical parole for Chen Kegui
3) a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry, Chen Guangcheng and Yuan Weijing
4) denial of US visas to 44 officials involved in persecuting Chen Guangcheng's family
Bad behavior can be brought around to good. God doesn't often speak to us audibly. He usually speaks to our inner person leading us to what is right. If we don't do what He says, God can use community correction. Unity can be used for good. An East African proverb says, "When minds are the same, that which is far off will come."
Pray that US Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barak Obama's administration takes the actions requested in the bi-partisan Congressional letter. Don't only pray about leaders, pray about all of your life and relationships. God enjoys a lot of communication and is very responsive. He wants the best life for us privately and publicly. 1 Tesalonicenses 5:17 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "Orad sin cesar." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Bilingual Bible New King James Version Bible says, "Pray without ceasing."
Creyentes (believers) are reinas y reyes (queens and kings.) We are valuable and deserve outstanding treatment both male and female and of whatever racial, ethnic or other background. Satan wants us to think small and settle for less than God's best.
For years abolitionists and women's rights activists worked together supporting each others causes. Yet when the Fifteenth amendment was ratified in 1870 effectively extending the right to vote to African American men and other men of color, some wanted women to suck it up and shut up about their lack of a right to vote.
Abolitionists and women's rights activists like Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others said we are going to stand up and to continue to seek all that is due us.
Christopher Yuan, who used to practice homosexual sex and is now a celibate, public speaker for Jesus Christ says that unconditional love is not unconditional acceptance of bad behavior.
Are you refusing to deal with bad behavior in a relationship? God doesn't settle for less than the best. God cares enough about us to bring His best out of us and in our relationships.
About one year ago the US and China agreed to allow Chen Guangcheng, his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children to leave China and to come to the United States. China agreed not to harass or to harm the Chen Guangcheng family still in China. In 2005 Guangcheng, a blind, self-taught lawyer, filed a class action lawsuit against local government authorities involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one child policy. He was put in jail then in house arrest in Shandong, China.
Guangcheng, Weijing, their son and their daughter are in the United States now, but Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, was arrested shortly after Guangcheng left China last spring after Chinese authorities burst into his house, and he attempted to defend himself. Chen Kegui is currently in jail and has not been taken to a hospital for treatment of acute appendicitis. Chen Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin. Last Thursday morning Guangcheng's brother, Chen Guangfu, was beat up by unidentified men who stopped him while he was riding his electric bike, which they destroyed. Other acts violence have been perpetrated against the Chen family since Chen Guangcheng came to America last year.
In addition to testifying before Congress on April 9, 2013, Chen Guangcheng and others have been speaking and seeking to get China to honor all of their side of the agreement that allowed Guangcheng to leave China while bringing attention to forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one child policy and other human rights abuses in China.
One of Guangcheng's friends is Bo Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid. They have been meeting with members of Congress. They reaped some fruit from their labors when a letter dated May 13, 2013, was sent to Secretary of State John Kerry signed by both House Speaker John Boehner and Minority leader Nancy Pelosi as well as six other senior Republican and Democratic members of Congress including Chris Smith, Frank Wolf, Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, Joseph Crowley, James McGovern and Rick Larsen.
Some of the things the letter urges US Secretary of State John Kerry to obtain are:
1) medical treatment for Chen Kegui
2) medical parole for Chen Kegui
3) a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry, Chen Guangcheng and Yuan Weijing
4) denial of US visas to 44 officials involved in persecuting Chen Guangcheng's family
Bad behavior can be brought around to good. God doesn't often speak to us audibly. He usually speaks to our inner person leading us to what is right. If we don't do what He says, God can use community correction. Unity can be used for good. An East African proverb says, "When minds are the same, that which is far off will come."
Pray that US Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barak Obama's administration takes the actions requested in the bi-partisan Congressional letter. Don't only pray about leaders, pray about all of your life and relationships. God enjoys a lot of communication and is very responsive. He wants the best life for us privately and publicly. 1 Tesalonicenses 5:17 Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960 dice, "Orad sin cesar." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Bilingual Bible New King James Version Bible says, "Pray without ceasing."
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Sex, Lies and Education
Frederick McKinley Jones and his boss, Joseph Numero, formed the U.S. Thermo Control Company after Jones perfected a truck refrigeration unit. Jones' refrigeration unit meant that fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy products, other food products, blood and medicines could now be shipped all over the country without spoiling.
Preservation is also important mentally and spiritually. The Epistle of Jude is written to creyentes (believers,) "to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.)
Once we receive a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost, God never lets go of us for all eternity. However, creyentes sometimes let go of God by sinning.
Dr. Derek Grier says in his sermon The Anatomy of a Shipwreck that lying seems good until no one trusts you anymore.
The sin of lying is common to singles and married people. Many married people lie to people who are not their spouse to get sex.
Why is it so hard to stay sexually satisfied inside marriage?
Since ancient times zi (the written word) has been revered among the Chinese. Have you tried Chinese pillow books to communicate better sexually with your spouse? Read my March 23, 2013, article "Have You Tried Chinese Pillow Books?"
Parents with awesome, affectionate, romantic, sexually sublime marriages are well positioned to talk to their children about sex. When parents have little or no sexual relationship, talking to their children about sex may inspire their children to think, "What do you know?;" "You aren't having fun and sexual sinners seem to be having fun." These children may decide to pursue sex outside of marriage.
We live in times when schools, the media and others cannot be relied upon to teach our children about sex. Many advocates exist who promote sex outside of marriage and adolescent autonomy from parents, family and the Christian faith.
Who we are on the inside shows up on the outside. Is the view attractive?
Attractive, awful and somewhere in between, "Orad sin cesar" (Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960.) "Pray without ceasing" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.) God likes us to talk with Him; God is excited to stop us from spoiling our relationships.
Preservation is also important mentally and spiritually. The Epistle of Jude is written to creyentes (believers,) "to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.)
Once we receive a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost, God never lets go of us for all eternity. However, creyentes sometimes let go of God by sinning.
Dr. Derek Grier says in his sermon The Anatomy of a Shipwreck that lying seems good until no one trusts you anymore.
The sin of lying is common to singles and married people. Many married people lie to people who are not their spouse to get sex.
Why is it so hard to stay sexually satisfied inside marriage?
Since ancient times zi (the written word) has been revered among the Chinese. Have you tried Chinese pillow books to communicate better sexually with your spouse? Read my March 23, 2013, article "Have You Tried Chinese Pillow Books?"
Parents with awesome, affectionate, romantic, sexually sublime marriages are well positioned to talk to their children about sex. When parents have little or no sexual relationship, talking to their children about sex may inspire their children to think, "What do you know?;" "You aren't having fun and sexual sinners seem to be having fun." These children may decide to pursue sex outside of marriage.
We live in times when schools, the media and others cannot be relied upon to teach our children about sex. Many advocates exist who promote sex outside of marriage and adolescent autonomy from parents, family and the Christian faith.
Who we are on the inside shows up on the outside. Is the view attractive?
Attractive, awful and somewhere in between, "Orad sin cesar" (Biblia Bilingue Version Reina-Valera 1960.) "Pray without ceasing" (Bilingual Bible New King James Version.) God likes us to talk with Him; God is excited to stop us from spoiling our relationships.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Strong Feet
Abraham Lincoln said, "I do not like that man. I must get to know him better." Creyentes (believers) are here to connect with people, enemies included, to introduce them to God and to encourage a growing relationship with Him. Growing in God includes growing in human relationships.
Ephesians 6:15 Amplified Bible says, "And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace."
All creyentes (believers) have their feet shod in peace to move into relationships and to develop them. Having something is not the same as using it effectively.
Jan Ernst Matzeliger's mom was a black woman from Suriname, South America, and his father was a Dutch person from Holland. Matzeliger eventually left South America and came to the United States of America. After 1877 as he worked in a shoe manufacturing company, he noticed that production was slow because workers had to attach the bottom of shoes to the top by hand. Only 50 shoes could be made by hand daily. So Matzeliger invented a machine to increase production. Matzeliger was a man who clearly had a good mission in life, but many rejected him because of his race.
A Chinese proverb says, "Climbing a tree to seek for fish;" it means "attempting to do the impossible." Embracing people who are different may seem impossible. We may not like the personality, physical characteristics and/or something else about a co-worker, boss, spouse, child, family member, acquaintance or someone else. Our ultimate enemy and adversary, Satan, wants us to believe the lie that it's impossible to form a godly relationship with people, especially people we may not initially like. Satan also speaks various lies to us designed to destroy relationships.
Matzeliger developed more than one machine before he got a patent for the "Lasting Machine" that could rapidly stitch the leather of shoes to their soles. Matzeliger's machine turned out 150 to 700 shoes daily.
God has given creyentes feet with the Gospel of peace, so we can live out things like Acts 10:34 New Living Translation Bible which says, "Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism." God's goodness is for whoever will receive Him.
Anytime is the right time to talk to God. When we find we know the Bible, but we cannot use our feet effectively or any part of the Bible, ask God for the strength to do it.
Where are some amazing places God has strengthened your feet to go?
Ephesians 6:15 Amplified Bible says, "And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace."
All creyentes (believers) have their feet shod in peace to move into relationships and to develop them. Having something is not the same as using it effectively.
Jan Ernst Matzeliger's mom was a black woman from Suriname, South America, and his father was a Dutch person from Holland. Matzeliger eventually left South America and came to the United States of America. After 1877 as he worked in a shoe manufacturing company, he noticed that production was slow because workers had to attach the bottom of shoes to the top by hand. Only 50 shoes could be made by hand daily. So Matzeliger invented a machine to increase production. Matzeliger was a man who clearly had a good mission in life, but many rejected him because of his race.
A Chinese proverb says, "Climbing a tree to seek for fish;" it means "attempting to do the impossible." Embracing people who are different may seem impossible. We may not like the personality, physical characteristics and/or something else about a co-worker, boss, spouse, child, family member, acquaintance or someone else. Our ultimate enemy and adversary, Satan, wants us to believe the lie that it's impossible to form a godly relationship with people, especially people we may not initially like. Satan also speaks various lies to us designed to destroy relationships.
Matzeliger developed more than one machine before he got a patent for the "Lasting Machine" that could rapidly stitch the leather of shoes to their soles. Matzeliger's machine turned out 150 to 700 shoes daily.
God has given creyentes feet with the Gospel of peace, so we can live out things like Acts 10:34 New Living Translation Bible which says, "Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism." God's goodness is for whoever will receive Him.
Anytime is the right time to talk to God. When we find we know the Bible, but we cannot use our feet effectively or any part of the Bible, ask God for the strength to do it.
Where are some amazing places God has strengthened your feet to go?
Monday, March 25, 2013
An Appetizer, the Main Dish or Among A Smorgasbord of Love Play
"Greet one another with a holy kiss," says 2 Corinthians 13:12 Complete Jewish Bible. Be kind to singles and married people; brush your teeth and tongue at least once a day. The Chinese invented the toothbrush, which is a good tool to use daily to help remove bad breath.
With fresh breath, a spouse may be inspired to say, "Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine" (Song of Solomon 1:2 New Living Translation;) "Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes are scented like the cedars of Lebanon" (Song of Solomon 4:11 New Living Translation;) "His mouth is sweetness itself; he is desirable in every way. Such, O women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend" (Song of Solomon 5:16 New Living Translation.)
If you make the soft grass and field of flowers your lovemaking bed like Solomon and his Shulammite wife, be sure to bathe or shower frequently. Cleanliness helps cunnilingus and fellatio to be delicioso. Here's a fellatio idea:
1) The husband lies on his back. The wife crawls between his legs.
2) The wife holds her husband's penis and gazes at it adoringly. Perhaps his penis has a name?
3) Slowly with broad licks the wife ministers to her husband's penis while massaging his balls.
4) The wife swirls, licks, sucks his penis as much as possible.
5) The wife picks up the pace of ministering according to the husband's excitement level.
Fellatio can be an appetizer, the main dish or among of smorgasbord of love play as is cunnilingus. Solomon admired and tasted his wife's vagina. Song of Solomon 4:12-16 New Living Translation Bible says:
"You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,
a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.
Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates
with rare spices—
henna with nard,
nard and saffron,
fragrant calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes,
and every other lovely spice.
You are a garden fountain,
a well of fresh water
streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.
Young Woman
Awake, north wind!
Rise up, south wind!
Blow on my garden
and spread its fragrance all around.
Come into your garden, my love;
taste its finest fruits."
Here's two cunnilingus ideas:
1) The wife can lie on her back while her husband crawls between her legs to suck her clitoris.
2) Or her husband can kneel at his wife's hip and provide oral delights from a right angle.
Cunnilingus and fellatio can be performed in a variety of ways. A good question for husbands and wives to ask is, "How can I please you?" The best lovers are good friends. Good friends are inquisitive. Friends want to ask questions to learn as much as possible about each other to increase all the good qualities of their relationship, qualities like their unity. King David writes in Psalm 133 English Standard Version Bible:
"Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore."
An East African proverb says, "When minds are the same, that which is far off will come." All obstacles to orgasms, spiritual fulfillment, emotional intimacy can be overcome by talking to God and allowing Him to empower you with the ability to be unified as a married couple full of friendliness and loving mutual ecstasy.
With fresh breath, a spouse may be inspired to say, "Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine" (Song of Solomon 1:2 New Living Translation;) "Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes are scented like the cedars of Lebanon" (Song of Solomon 4:11 New Living Translation;) "His mouth is sweetness itself; he is desirable in every way. Such, O women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend" (Song of Solomon 5:16 New Living Translation.)
If you make the soft grass and field of flowers your lovemaking bed like Solomon and his Shulammite wife, be sure to bathe or shower frequently. Cleanliness helps cunnilingus and fellatio to be delicioso. Here's a fellatio idea:
1) The husband lies on his back. The wife crawls between his legs.
2) The wife holds her husband's penis and gazes at it adoringly. Perhaps his penis has a name?
3) Slowly with broad licks the wife ministers to her husband's penis while massaging his balls.
4) The wife swirls, licks, sucks his penis as much as possible.
5) The wife picks up the pace of ministering according to the husband's excitement level.
Fellatio can be an appetizer, the main dish or among of smorgasbord of love play as is cunnilingus. Solomon admired and tasted his wife's vagina. Song of Solomon 4:12-16 New Living Translation Bible says:
"You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,
a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.
Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates
with rare spices—
henna with nard,
nard and saffron,
fragrant calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes,
and every other lovely spice.
You are a garden fountain,
a well of fresh water
streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.
Young Woman
Awake, north wind!
Rise up, south wind!
Blow on my garden
and spread its fragrance all around.
Come into your garden, my love;
taste its finest fruits."
Here's two cunnilingus ideas:
1) The wife can lie on her back while her husband crawls between her legs to suck her clitoris.
2) Or her husband can kneel at his wife's hip and provide oral delights from a right angle.
Cunnilingus and fellatio can be performed in a variety of ways. A good question for husbands and wives to ask is, "How can I please you?" The best lovers are good friends. Good friends are inquisitive. Friends want to ask questions to learn as much as possible about each other to increase all the good qualities of their relationship, qualities like their unity. King David writes in Psalm 133 English Standard Version Bible:
"Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore."
An East African proverb says, "When minds are the same, that which is far off will come." All obstacles to orgasms, spiritual fulfillment, emotional intimacy can be overcome by talking to God and allowing Him to empower you with the ability to be unified as a married couple full of friendliness and loving mutual ecstasy.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Keep the Conversation Going
As believers have you asked yourself, "Am I talking with God about the things I should?" God doesn't want us to become so guarded in our conversation with Him that we are uncomfortable and unable to discuss everything respectfully. We can relax because God has already compensated for our conversations that go astray. Romans 8:26-27 Amplified Bible says, "So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will."
Even if we are on the wrong subjects God is always on the right subject. And not only that if we are pursuing Him, He will make sure we become increasingly like Him. God is for us. He wants goodness for us.
Satan, our enemy, however, likes to accuse us of doing things wrong. God does correct us. He doesn't condemn us.
A Nigerian proverb says, "One should keep one's eyes on one's destination, not on where one stumbled." For believers our destination is to grow in relationship with God.
Reject condemnation. Keep on talking and cooperating with God.
Even if we are on the wrong subjects God is always on the right subject. And not only that if we are pursuing Him, He will make sure we become increasingly like Him. God is for us. He wants goodness for us.
Satan, our enemy, however, likes to accuse us of doing things wrong. God does correct us. He doesn't condemn us.
A Nigerian proverb says, "One should keep one's eyes on one's destination, not on where one stumbled." For believers our destination is to grow in relationship with God.
Reject condemnation. Keep on talking and cooperating with God.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Love Without Limit
"I absolutely love, love my life. Every year seems to get better for me," said International Bible Teacher Francis Chan in a speech at Liberty University encouraging believers to cultivate an intimate relationship with God that they share with both believers and non-believers in their every day, ordinary lives.
Chan's message is in agreement with Gospel Singer Kim Burrell's song "Sweeter." Burrell sings, "Every day is sweeter, sweeter than the day before, learning how to love you more . . . . The more I get to know ya', know ya', find out that you're so good for me . . . . You're good on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday . . . . Every day makes me want to add another day to my week cause you're so sweet.
God's sweet is too good to keep to ourselves. 1 Juan 3:16 Dios Habla Hoy Biblia dice, "Conocemos lo que es el amor porque Jesucristo dio su vida por nosotros; asà también, nosotros debemos dar la vida por nuestros hermanos." 1 John 3:16 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other."
Some people falsely think that love has a limit. When Hollywood Actor Lauren Bacall discovered she was pregnant, she excitedly told her husband, Hollywood Actor, Humphrey Bogart. Bogart cried. "What's wrong?," she inquired. Bogart responded, "I'm happy, but I'm also very sad." Bogart said his joy was mixed with sadness, "Because once you have a child, I'll never be as important to you as I am now."
While some spouses do neglect their spouses when children are added to the family, God didn't design His love inside of believers to express itself this way. Marital love takes priority over parental love while simultaneously, extravagantly loving spouse and children.
Our children are important, but we don't cleave to them. One day they will form families of their own or branch out into single adulthood. Genesis 2:24-25 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other’s presence." Genesis 2:23-25 the Message Bible says, "The Man said, “Finally! Bone of my bone,flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man.”Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame."
Sometimes we close our hearts when God wants to increase our capacity to love Him, ourselves and other people. In addition to developing vibrant relationships with our children, having children is supposed to increase the love between husband and wife. Godly love is a multiplier. Division is of the devil.
Jesus Christ is not arrogant, but He is certainly confident. When Christ added apostles and other disciples to His life, Christ was not diminished as a person, neither were His original relationships diminished by adding new ones.
God seeks to make us like Him. We have corrupt ideas about companionship. Reading, studying, meditating on God's Word, the Bible, and talking to God about His Bible is a primary way that God teaches us to love Him, ourselves and other people. Second Corinthians 3:16-18 the Message Bible says, "Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him."
We want to be loved by the people we share a relationship, and we will often say and do things to indicate how we want to be loved. Some times our loved ones miss the message. An Egyptian saying for this type of miscommunication is, "A thousand raps at the door, but no salute or invitation from within."
Sometimes we miss the plea for love because we expect other people to be like us. Yet no two people, even twins and other multiples, are the same. Like we study God in the Bible, and talk to Him about what He has to say, we have to study people and talk with them about what they have to say. Then empowered by the Holy Ghost, give love the way it can be received.
Chan's message is in agreement with Gospel Singer Kim Burrell's song "Sweeter." Burrell sings, "Every day is sweeter, sweeter than the day before, learning how to love you more . . . . The more I get to know ya', know ya', find out that you're so good for me . . . . You're good on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday . . . . Every day makes me want to add another day to my week cause you're so sweet.
God's sweet is too good to keep to ourselves. 1 Juan 3:16 Dios Habla Hoy Biblia dice, "Conocemos lo que es el amor porque Jesucristo dio su vida por nosotros; asà también, nosotros debemos dar la vida por nuestros hermanos." 1 John 3:16 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other."
Some people falsely think that love has a limit. When Hollywood Actor Lauren Bacall discovered she was pregnant, she excitedly told her husband, Hollywood Actor, Humphrey Bogart. Bogart cried. "What's wrong?," she inquired. Bogart responded, "I'm happy, but I'm also very sad." Bogart said his joy was mixed with sadness, "Because once you have a child, I'll never be as important to you as I am now."
While some spouses do neglect their spouses when children are added to the family, God didn't design His love inside of believers to express itself this way. Marital love takes priority over parental love while simultaneously, extravagantly loving spouse and children.
Our children are important, but we don't cleave to them. One day they will form families of their own or branch out into single adulthood. Genesis 2:24-25 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other’s presence." Genesis 2:23-25 the Message Bible says, "The Man said, “Finally! Bone of my bone,flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man.”Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame."
Sometimes we close our hearts when God wants to increase our capacity to love Him, ourselves and other people. In addition to developing vibrant relationships with our children, having children is supposed to increase the love between husband and wife. Godly love is a multiplier. Division is of the devil.
Jesus Christ is not arrogant, but He is certainly confident. When Christ added apostles and other disciples to His life, Christ was not diminished as a person, neither were His original relationships diminished by adding new ones.
God seeks to make us like Him. We have corrupt ideas about companionship. Reading, studying, meditating on God's Word, the Bible, and talking to God about His Bible is a primary way that God teaches us to love Him, ourselves and other people. Second Corinthians 3:16-18 the Message Bible says, "Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him."
We want to be loved by the people we share a relationship, and we will often say and do things to indicate how we want to be loved. Some times our loved ones miss the message. An Egyptian saying for this type of miscommunication is, "A thousand raps at the door, but no salute or invitation from within."
Sometimes we miss the plea for love because we expect other people to be like us. Yet no two people, even twins and other multiples, are the same. Like we study God in the Bible, and talk to Him about what He has to say, we have to study people and talk with them about what they have to say. Then empowered by the Holy Ghost, give love the way it can be received.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Touch Time
Genesis 1:23-24 New Living Translation Bible says, "“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one."
Some limit lovemaking to sexual intercourse, but it's supposed to be so much more than that. Sexual relations include multiple skin-on-skin contacts. Touch is good, very good. Touch increases brain activity and heightens alertness. God designed our bodies with sensitive nerve endings that release feel good chemicals like endorphins and oxycotin.
A husband can get on top of his wife and have sexual intercourse with her while simultaneously kissing her feet. Prayer and practice are helpful in perfecting this sex position.
A February 15, 2013, The Times of India "Thai couple smooch to new Guinness World Record" article says, "Hospital security guard Ekkachai Tiranarat, 44, and 33-year-old housewife Laksana locked lips for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds, smashing last year's Guinness World Record by more than eight hours."
We probably don't need to kiss for more than two days to put positive chemistry into our relationships.
Kissing is a type of lovemaking that is not limited to marriage. Kissing is for family, friends, associates and others. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 16:16 Amplified Bible, "Greet one another with a holy (consecrated) kiss. All the churches of Christ (the Messiah) wish to be remembered to you." He also says in 1 Corinthians 16:20 Amplified Bible, "All the brethren wish to be remembered to you and wish you well. Greet one another with a holy kiss."
Touch is a vital ingredient to good health spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and physically. World-Class Actor Denzel Washington, who has been married to Pauletta Washington more than 30 years, says, "Acting is just a way of making a living, the family is life."
We need copious amounts of touch. Implementing a separate Federal holiday for former President Abraham Lincoln instead of one American Presidents' Day would give us more time to touch. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union and battled periods of depression. Do we have a Federal, American holiday recognizing the accomplishments of people with mental illness?
Some limit lovemaking to sexual intercourse, but it's supposed to be so much more than that. Sexual relations include multiple skin-on-skin contacts. Touch is good, very good. Touch increases brain activity and heightens alertness. God designed our bodies with sensitive nerve endings that release feel good chemicals like endorphins and oxycotin.
A husband can get on top of his wife and have sexual intercourse with her while simultaneously kissing her feet. Prayer and practice are helpful in perfecting this sex position.
A February 15, 2013, The Times of India "Thai couple smooch to new Guinness World Record" article says, "Hospital security guard Ekkachai Tiranarat, 44, and 33-year-old housewife Laksana locked lips for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds, smashing last year's Guinness World Record by more than eight hours."
We probably don't need to kiss for more than two days to put positive chemistry into our relationships.
Kissing is a type of lovemaking that is not limited to marriage. Kissing is for family, friends, associates and others. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 16:16 Amplified Bible, "Greet one another with a holy (consecrated) kiss. All the churches of Christ (the Messiah) wish to be remembered to you." He also says in 1 Corinthians 16:20 Amplified Bible, "All the brethren wish to be remembered to you and wish you well. Greet one another with a holy kiss."
Touch is a vital ingredient to good health spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and physically. World-Class Actor Denzel Washington, who has been married to Pauletta Washington more than 30 years, says, "Acting is just a way of making a living, the family is life."
We need copious amounts of touch. Implementing a separate Federal holiday for former President Abraham Lincoln instead of one American Presidents' Day would give us more time to touch. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union and battled periods of depression. Do we have a Federal, American holiday recognizing the accomplishments of people with mental illness?
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Financial Infidelity
Psalm 18:25 New Living Translation Bible says, "To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity." We often receive what we give. Many of us desire transparency, trust and true love, but live contrary to our beliefs. Financial infidelity is rampant in marriages because we are not faithful in our management of finances which enables our spouses to be unfaithful. Common transparency and trust sins are failing to discuss and unite around financial values and goals, creating and maintaining an atmosphere of unequal knowledge about all family finances, hiding credit card statements, demanding bank statements for your-eyes-only via email, hiding paychecks, secret spending sprees, failing to appreciate each others money management styles, failing to create and cooperate with a mutually-agreed-upon money management system, etc. Prayer and asking God and ones spouse for forgiveness are a start to fixing financial infidelity.
Next empathize to enable understanding of a spouse who may have a different money management style from our own. We are not all motivated by the same things. Some of us are motivated by authority or attention. Others are motivated by acceptance or accuracy. God made us different because He likes diversity. We can learn about God by studying diversity. Cherish the God in your spouse instead of habitual criticizing.
Both men and women need to be well informed about money and financial issues. Some wives sin in leaving all or most of the responsibility for household finances with their husbands. It's a dangerous way to live with 50 percent of marriages ending in divorce and age 56 being the average age of widowhood.
Someone motivated by authority views money as power. They are highly productive, focused and hardworking. They always seem to have a vision. Having vision is godly. Proverbs 29:18 Amplified Bible says, "Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he." They have clear ideas to manage large budgets and large challenges and take large risks. They have to be careful to remember that personal relationships with people are just as important as the big vision. Jesus Christ says in John 13:34-35 English Standard Version, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Someone motivated by attention views money as a way to connect with people and to create memories. They are very generous. Generosity is a way to expand the kingdom of God. Luke 16:9 Amplified Bible says, "And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions), so that when it fails, they [those you have favored] may receive and welcome you into the everlasting habitations (dwellings)." They have to be careful not to overspend and to value savings and investments.
Someone motivated by acceptance desires to live in peace. They want simplicity and balance around money issues not living in the stress of spending more than a family makes. They value getting along with each other and cooperation. Romans 12:18 New Living Translation Bible says, "Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone." They need to make sure they confront money issues as needed and not pursue peace at any price.
Someone motivated by accuracy desires to follow a specific money management system. They are emotionally attached to a budget. If the budget is $100.00 a week for groceries; spending $110.00 will probably cause an argument. They are big on saving, loss prevention, planning, counting their money and assets and minimizing their liabilities. They like to be in the know, and don't like surprises. Proverbs 27:23 Amplified Bible says, "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds." God is for savings and investments and having more than enough. Psalm 33:7 Amplified Bible says, "He gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He puts the deeps in storage places." Those motivated by accuracy have to be careful as they accumulate more financial resources not to place their security in resources instead of God. They also have to guard against stinginess. While we want to have more than enough, they have to sometimes remember spending and giving are good; money and financial resources are tools to be used for the glory of God in all areas of living.
After understanding and empathizing with our spouse comes seeking ways to cooperate and collaborate. View differences positively. Lose attitudes of superiority. Mutual respect and participation in money management are vital. God made each one of us unique, so our way of coming together in money management will be unique. Coming together involves:
praying,
forgiving,
brainstorming,
talking,
studying,
researching,
committing to each other and agreements and
meditating on the agreements to live them out daily.
Sometimes a spouse struggles to forgive a bankruptcy, large gambling debt, huge investment failure, a housing foreclosure, a job or business loss, a lack of job promotion or business growth or some other financial failure. Joyce Meyer writes in her book, Love Out Loud 365 Devotions for Loving God, Loving Yourself, and Loving Others, "Do you hold unforgiveness toward anyone for any reason? If so, it needs to be eliminated from your heart and mind right away because it's keeping you in bondage. You may be thinking, Well, Joyce, that's easy for you to say. You haven't been hurt like I have. That is true, but I have been hurt in life to a very deep degree. I was abused, abandoned, rejected, blamed, lied about, misunderstood, and betrayed by family and friends, and I allowed the enemy to fill my heart with hatred for those who hurt me. But when I began to learn about love, I moved from hatred to bitterness to mild resentment and finally to freedom, which only comes through forgiveness. The Lord graciously brought restitution into my life. God promises to bring justice into our lives and to give us a double reward for our former shame, pain, and unfair treatment (See Isa. 61:7). When we try to bring justice ourselves through vengeful acts, we only prevent God from working on our behalf."
Money challenges are not always the result of negative life experiences. When a spouse retires before age 50, starts a business, inherits a large sum of money and/or property or some other significant, positive, financial experience, the other spouse may experience feelings of jealousy, envy, resentment and/or other negative emotions and attitudes. All emotions and attitudes impact the atmosphere in a marriage. Proverbs 14:30 Amplified Bible says, "A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones." Proverbs 27:4 Amplified Bible says, "Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, but who is able to stand before jealousy?"
Money and other financial issues can be very difficult to discuss. Be sure to rely on the Holy-Spirit-given fruit of self-control and the wisdom of our Christ mind to manage our emotions. Ravi Zacharias counsels in his sermon, "Divided Heart, Divided Home," "But if good advice is to be effective. It should be timed rightly." Converse at times that are convenient for both members of the couple. Lynn Toler says in her book, Making Marriage Work New Rules For An Old Institution, "If you think of communication as the Superman of relationships, Right Now is Kryptonite. Right Now is when the issue first arises. Right Now is when you are mad. Right Now is when the hurt you feel about what he or she has done is felt for the first time. Right Now is good for arguments, catharses, and contention. Right Now is almost never amenable to a conversation."
It also doesn't hurt to create a calming environment for conversation. Perhaps putting on Lonnie Plaxico's Melange jazz album, or one of your favorite albums, or whatever it is that you both enjoy and find edifying for conversation. The little things that show you took the time and effort to know what pleases a person can really communicate love. Dr. Derek Grier writes in his book, 60 Minutes of Wisdom Insight In An Instant, "John Maxwell, an expert on gaining personal influence, states, "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care." In other words, before you attempt to direct, you must connect."
If financial infidelity has visited our home, living according to Biblical principles will encourage financial infidelity to leave as an unwelcome guest.
Next empathize to enable understanding of a spouse who may have a different money management style from our own. We are not all motivated by the same things. Some of us are motivated by authority or attention. Others are motivated by acceptance or accuracy. God made us different because He likes diversity. We can learn about God by studying diversity. Cherish the God in your spouse instead of habitual criticizing.
Both men and women need to be well informed about money and financial issues. Some wives sin in leaving all or most of the responsibility for household finances with their husbands. It's a dangerous way to live with 50 percent of marriages ending in divorce and age 56 being the average age of widowhood.
Someone motivated by authority views money as power. They are highly productive, focused and hardworking. They always seem to have a vision. Having vision is godly. Proverbs 29:18 Amplified Bible says, "Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he." They have clear ideas to manage large budgets and large challenges and take large risks. They have to be careful to remember that personal relationships with people are just as important as the big vision. Jesus Christ says in John 13:34-35 English Standard Version, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Someone motivated by attention views money as a way to connect with people and to create memories. They are very generous. Generosity is a way to expand the kingdom of God. Luke 16:9 Amplified Bible says, "And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions), so that when it fails, they [those you have favored] may receive and welcome you into the everlasting habitations (dwellings)." They have to be careful not to overspend and to value savings and investments.
Someone motivated by acceptance desires to live in peace. They want simplicity and balance around money issues not living in the stress of spending more than a family makes. They value getting along with each other and cooperation. Romans 12:18 New Living Translation Bible says, "Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone." They need to make sure they confront money issues as needed and not pursue peace at any price.
Someone motivated by accuracy desires to follow a specific money management system. They are emotionally attached to a budget. If the budget is $100.00 a week for groceries; spending $110.00 will probably cause an argument. They are big on saving, loss prevention, planning, counting their money and assets and minimizing their liabilities. They like to be in the know, and don't like surprises. Proverbs 27:23 Amplified Bible says, "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds." God is for savings and investments and having more than enough. Psalm 33:7 Amplified Bible says, "He gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He puts the deeps in storage places." Those motivated by accuracy have to be careful as they accumulate more financial resources not to place their security in resources instead of God. They also have to guard against stinginess. While we want to have more than enough, they have to sometimes remember spending and giving are good; money and financial resources are tools to be used for the glory of God in all areas of living.
After understanding and empathizing with our spouse comes seeking ways to cooperate and collaborate. View differences positively. Lose attitudes of superiority. Mutual respect and participation in money management are vital. God made each one of us unique, so our way of coming together in money management will be unique. Coming together involves:
praying,
forgiving,
brainstorming,
talking,
studying,
researching,
committing to each other and agreements and
meditating on the agreements to live them out daily.
Sometimes a spouse struggles to forgive a bankruptcy, large gambling debt, huge investment failure, a housing foreclosure, a job or business loss, a lack of job promotion or business growth or some other financial failure. Joyce Meyer writes in her book, Love Out Loud 365 Devotions for Loving God, Loving Yourself, and Loving Others, "Do you hold unforgiveness toward anyone for any reason? If so, it needs to be eliminated from your heart and mind right away because it's keeping you in bondage. You may be thinking, Well, Joyce, that's easy for you to say. You haven't been hurt like I have. That is true, but I have been hurt in life to a very deep degree. I was abused, abandoned, rejected, blamed, lied about, misunderstood, and betrayed by family and friends, and I allowed the enemy to fill my heart with hatred for those who hurt me. But when I began to learn about love, I moved from hatred to bitterness to mild resentment and finally to freedom, which only comes through forgiveness. The Lord graciously brought restitution into my life. God promises to bring justice into our lives and to give us a double reward for our former shame, pain, and unfair treatment (See Isa. 61:7). When we try to bring justice ourselves through vengeful acts, we only prevent God from working on our behalf."
Money challenges are not always the result of negative life experiences. When a spouse retires before age 50, starts a business, inherits a large sum of money and/or property or some other significant, positive, financial experience, the other spouse may experience feelings of jealousy, envy, resentment and/or other negative emotions and attitudes. All emotions and attitudes impact the atmosphere in a marriage. Proverbs 14:30 Amplified Bible says, "A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones." Proverbs 27:4 Amplified Bible says, "Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, but who is able to stand before jealousy?"
Money and other financial issues can be very difficult to discuss. Be sure to rely on the Holy-Spirit-given fruit of self-control and the wisdom of our Christ mind to manage our emotions. Ravi Zacharias counsels in his sermon, "Divided Heart, Divided Home," "But if good advice is to be effective. It should be timed rightly." Converse at times that are convenient for both members of the couple. Lynn Toler says in her book, Making Marriage Work New Rules For An Old Institution, "If you think of communication as the Superman of relationships, Right Now is Kryptonite. Right Now is when the issue first arises. Right Now is when you are mad. Right Now is when the hurt you feel about what he or she has done is felt for the first time. Right Now is good for arguments, catharses, and contention. Right Now is almost never amenable to a conversation."
It also doesn't hurt to create a calming environment for conversation. Perhaps putting on Lonnie Plaxico's Melange jazz album, or one of your favorite albums, or whatever it is that you both enjoy and find edifying for conversation. The little things that show you took the time and effort to know what pleases a person can really communicate love. Dr. Derek Grier writes in his book, 60 Minutes of Wisdom Insight In An Instant, "John Maxwell, an expert on gaining personal influence, states, "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care." In other words, before you attempt to direct, you must connect."
If financial infidelity has visited our home, living according to Biblical principles will encourage financial infidelity to leave as an unwelcome guest.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Some Things to Pray
What are some things to pray for? Jesus says in Matthew 21:22 New International Version Bible, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." In John 17 Jesus prayed that He will be revealed to believers. God has to give life to our spirit in order for us to recognize who Jesus is. We can pray that Jesus will be revealed to people.
Unity is also something good to pray for. Psalm 133:4 New King James Version Bible says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Unity makes it easier to accomplish our purpose in life because we are cooperating with each other.
Living in unity does not mean that we are all the same. Pray to know your God-given purpose. This way we will fulfill all that He has called us to fulfill.
Don't try to fulfill purpose without consulting God. By ourselves we go into areas that are not productive.
When we live in purpose we also live with truth. We can pray for truth to be revealed. Truth may seem to be revealed by facts, but this is not always the case. Truth has a dimension that is both spiritual and natural. For example, in the natural the Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh, some type of problem in his life. In the Spirit of God, God turned the weakness this thorn caused into strength.
We can pray for intimacy with God. Jesus notes in John 17 that He is so close to God the Father that He is one with God the Father. Jesus is the manifestation of God that we can see. He had a physical body in His earthly ministry 2,000 years ago. Even before Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus, Jesus had a body. For example, in the Old Testament Jesus was the commander of the Lord's army in Joshua 5 that Joshua worshiped.
We can pray that God will not lead us into temptation. Temptation can bring out weakness that does not lead to giving honor to God. Avoid temptation. It can be enticing. Some can be passed, but not all.
We can pray for protection. Our ultimate enemy is the devil and his demons who have been around a lot longer than we have. God can take care of problems we have no idea about. For example, we live in a world where there is enough food for everyone, but political obstacles stand in the way. Respect authority. Pray for governmental leaders. May leaders let go of pre-destined failure and embrace win-win solutions today and every day. Anything is possible.
Unity is also something good to pray for. Psalm 133:4 New King James Version Bible says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Unity makes it easier to accomplish our purpose in life because we are cooperating with each other.
Living in unity does not mean that we are all the same. Pray to know your God-given purpose. This way we will fulfill all that He has called us to fulfill.
Don't try to fulfill purpose without consulting God. By ourselves we go into areas that are not productive.
When we live in purpose we also live with truth. We can pray for truth to be revealed. Truth may seem to be revealed by facts, but this is not always the case. Truth has a dimension that is both spiritual and natural. For example, in the natural the Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh, some type of problem in his life. In the Spirit of God, God turned the weakness this thorn caused into strength.
We can pray for intimacy with God. Jesus notes in John 17 that He is so close to God the Father that He is one with God the Father. Jesus is the manifestation of God that we can see. He had a physical body in His earthly ministry 2,000 years ago. Even before Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus, Jesus had a body. For example, in the Old Testament Jesus was the commander of the Lord's army in Joshua 5 that Joshua worshiped.
We can pray that God will not lead us into temptation. Temptation can bring out weakness that does not lead to giving honor to God. Avoid temptation. It can be enticing. Some can be passed, but not all.
We can pray for protection. Our ultimate enemy is the devil and his demons who have been around a lot longer than we have. God can take care of problems we have no idea about. For example, we live in a world where there is enough food for everyone, but political obstacles stand in the way. Respect authority. Pray for governmental leaders. May leaders let go of pre-destined failure and embrace win-win solutions today and every day. Anything is possible.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Friends and Prayer
In prayer and in other parts of life two or more are better than one. Ecclesiastes 4:10 New International Version Bible says, "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"
One way we can help each other up in through prayer. Friends should pray for each other. Psalm 28 indicates that when we pray we should show respect to God and not take for granted that He is able to hear us. Often we are in trouble. We can talk to God about trouble and triumph. He has the ability to keep us or bring us out of the pit (bad places in life).
God can also extend mercy in our situations. Friends are designed to extend mercy to each other. We are to build each other up.
God helps us through life. God is a shepherd. He desires to lead and to direct us in this earthly life and in the next lie if we are chosen for eternal life. God leads us and directs us in the way we should go.
We are at the forefront of God's mind. God wants to make sure that we live the good, abundant, enjoyable life He promised. Friends should want this too for each other.
One way we can help each other up in through prayer. Friends should pray for each other. Psalm 28 indicates that when we pray we should show respect to God and not take for granted that He is able to hear us. Often we are in trouble. We can talk to God about trouble and triumph. He has the ability to keep us or bring us out of the pit (bad places in life).
God can also extend mercy in our situations. Friends are designed to extend mercy to each other. We are to build each other up.
God helps us through life. God is a shepherd. He desires to lead and to direct us in this earthly life and in the next lie if we are chosen for eternal life. God leads us and directs us in the way we should go.
We are at the forefront of God's mind. God wants to make sure that we live the good, abundant, enjoyable life He promised. Friends should want this too for each other.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Being Human and God
The same person who formed the stars, the planets, the oceans, our known universe is the same person who chose to become like us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took on a body of flesh and blood, so that He might die and rise again to reconcile us with God and to destroy the devil who was given the power of death.
God didn't save believers from their sins and give them eternal life from a distance. He desires close fellowship. John 17:3 New International Version Bible says, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Believers are part of the family of God. God calls us things like friends, brothers, children and His bride.
God wants to talk with us about our lives. Hebrews 2 tells us that He is also a priest, so we can go to Him when we are tempted to do evil, and He is able to strengthen us. Scriptures like Psalm 100 say that God also likes for us to thank Him for His character and His deeds. We can also make requests of Him. When we talk with Jesus we are not talking with someone who does not know what it is to be human. Jesus Christ went through a variety of life experiences in His earthly ministry more than 2,000 years ago. Although He is fully God, Jesus Christ suffered the constraints of being human. God used this suffering/experience to bring to perfection His plan of being our high priest. There isn't any problem or issue in our life that He isn't able to help.
Jesus Christ became human for the sake of the spiritual descendants of Abraham -- some biologically related to Abraham, others not, but both God's chosen people who have received an eternal relationship with Him.
God likes us. Not only does He want to be in relationship with believers, He wants us to be rulers. All believers are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are kings and queens. He desires for us to take authority over our area of influence in ways that please Him.
One of the best things to please God is simply to talk to our brother, friend, husband Jesus often. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 New Living Translation Bible says, "Never stop praying."
God didn't save believers from their sins and give them eternal life from a distance. He desires close fellowship. John 17:3 New International Version Bible says, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Believers are part of the family of God. God calls us things like friends, brothers, children and His bride.
God wants to talk with us about our lives. Hebrews 2 tells us that He is also a priest, so we can go to Him when we are tempted to do evil, and He is able to strengthen us. Scriptures like Psalm 100 say that God also likes for us to thank Him for His character and His deeds. We can also make requests of Him. When we talk with Jesus we are not talking with someone who does not know what it is to be human. Jesus Christ went through a variety of life experiences in His earthly ministry more than 2,000 years ago. Although He is fully God, Jesus Christ suffered the constraints of being human. God used this suffering/experience to bring to perfection His plan of being our high priest. There isn't any problem or issue in our life that He isn't able to help.
Jesus Christ became human for the sake of the spiritual descendants of Abraham -- some biologically related to Abraham, others not, but both God's chosen people who have received an eternal relationship with Him.
God likes us. Not only does He want to be in relationship with believers, He wants us to be rulers. All believers are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are kings and queens. He desires for us to take authority over our area of influence in ways that please Him.
One of the best things to please God is simply to talk to our brother, friend, husband Jesus often. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 New Living Translation Bible says, "Never stop praying."
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Something to Overcome
God is good. He is worthy to be praised. God is for us. He is more for us than we are for ourselves.
God wants our lifestyle to reflect Him, but often it does not because His standard is high.
We all need fresh mercy from God daily for the many areas we are not like Him. We also need God to protect believers individually and as groups.
We will have many difficulties in this life, but they can be overcome.
God wants our lifestyle to reflect Him, but often it does not because His standard is high.
We all need fresh mercy from God daily for the many areas we are not like Him. We also need God to protect believers individually and as groups.
We will have many difficulties in this life, but they can be overcome.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Vote Tuesday, November 6
"First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior," writes the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-3 Amplified Bible.
Casting our vote Tuesday, November 6, for president of the United States and other governmental offices and political issues is a form of prayer; we will be making a request of God on how to lead America.
Good leaders implement good policies. Proverbs 16:12 Amplified Bible says, "It is an abomination [to God and men] for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established and made secure by righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation)."
Casting our vote Tuesday, November 6, for president of the United States and other governmental offices and political issues is a form of prayer; we will be making a request of God on how to lead America.
Good leaders implement good policies. Proverbs 16:12 Amplified Bible says, "It is an abomination [to God and men] for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established and made secure by righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation)."
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Living On Purpose
Prema Dhanraj's mom, Ruthie, like Hannah, the mom of Samuel, prayed for her first child. These moms dedicated Prema and Samuel to God. Prema became a doctor. Samuel became a prophet.
God gives us children for multiple reasons. Ask God to reveal the reasons, and then nurture them and the child. Proverbs 22:6 Amplified Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it."
Prayers are meant to be put into action. Eli trained Samuel in ministry. Prema completed medical school. Samuel became a premier prophet of the Hebrews. Prema became Head of the Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery department of Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India, and in 1999 she founded Agni Raksha to provide medical treatment to burn victims and to provide career training. Many of the hospital's burn patients are victims of bride burning which can happen when the groom's family is not satisfied with the dowry from the bride's family. Demanding a dowry is suppose to be illegal as of 1961, but it is still practiced.
Samuel and Prema did not forget the investment their God and their parents made in them. They returned it to their family, society and even the world. Samuel's testimony is available to readers of the Bible, the most-read book in history. In addition to her work in India, Prema speaks and trains people internationally to help burn victims. Both Samuel and Prema are committed believers with clear purpose in life. An African proverb says, "If you don't know who you are, anyone can name you; and if anyone can name you, you will answer to anything."
Please share some prayers for your children that were answered in a life lived with godly purpose.
God gives us children for multiple reasons. Ask God to reveal the reasons, and then nurture them and the child. Proverbs 22:6 Amplified Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it."
Prayers are meant to be put into action. Eli trained Samuel in ministry. Prema completed medical school. Samuel became a premier prophet of the Hebrews. Prema became Head of the Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery department of Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India, and in 1999 she founded Agni Raksha to provide medical treatment to burn victims and to provide career training. Many of the hospital's burn patients are victims of bride burning which can happen when the groom's family is not satisfied with the dowry from the bride's family. Demanding a dowry is suppose to be illegal as of 1961, but it is still practiced.
Samuel and Prema did not forget the investment their God and their parents made in them. They returned it to their family, society and even the world. Samuel's testimony is available to readers of the Bible, the most-read book in history. In addition to her work in India, Prema speaks and trains people internationally to help burn victims. Both Samuel and Prema are committed believers with clear purpose in life. An African proverb says, "If you don't know who you are, anyone can name you; and if anyone can name you, you will answer to anything."
Please share some prayers for your children that were answered in a life lived with godly purpose.
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