Showing posts with label the importance of family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the importance of family. Show all posts
Monday, June 11, 2012
He Wanted Me
God Almighty, The Ruler and Creator of the universe, of mankind, The Omnipresent, All Powerful, King of all kings, and Lord of all lords, LOVE Himself, chose you and He chose me!
He actually “picked us out for Himself as His own . . . before the foundation of the world!” HE WANTED US! He “foreordained” (to decree before hand, to predestine) us. He pre-planned us and spoke (decreed) about us before we ever were.
So, if you have ever been told you were an accident, or that you were never planned or even if you were told that you were not wanted, let me NOW TELL YOU THE TRUTH . . . you were not an accident, you were vividly planned, and you were and are wanted by LOVE Himself, Father God and Jesus Christ of Nazareth!
You my brother or sister, YOU ARE A GOOD IDEA, YOU ARE GOD’S IDEA! YOU ARE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE FAMILY OF GOD! If you have trusted and given your life to Jesus, and living for Him, you have been adopted into the Family of God! You are one of His Children! Praise God, He WANTED us! HE chose us! HE picked us! Choose Him today!
Scripture of The Day: “Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love. (5) For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be ADOPTED (revealed) AS HIS OWN CHILDREN through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]-” - Ephesians 1:4-5 (AMP)
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Martha, Martha
f you have ever read the account of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, like me, you may have thought that Jesus was a bit hard on Martha. After all, she was serving HIM and the least He could've done was rally some help for her from Mary, right? I could definitely identify with Martha; we ALL have a to do list that never seems to go away. Once one task is complete, it seems like two show up in its place. And when that happens, we tend to pull on family and loved ones to bail us out. But I now believe that Martha's busyness was only a symptom of a deeper issue. What Jesus was really concerned about was her relationship status--with Him and with her sister, Mary.
From this account, we can identify the following:
1. Martha invited Jesus into her house; she initiated the invitation. No one forced or coerced her to do so. Mary's position was already established--at Jesus' feet.
2. Martha was overly occupied with MUCH SERVING! She was serving Christ Himself and yet the Bible says that she was too busy!! Some may say that there's no such thing as "over serving" in the body of Christ, but this statement isn't Biblical, especially when that service is coming from the wrong place.
3. Martha recognizes that she has taken on too great a task and feeling overwhelmed, she goes to Jesus and asks Him to confront her sister and run interference between them. Yet, the text never states that she went directly to Mary directly! Martha, who once again brought this on herself, now claims the victim role to Jesus and makes her sister, Mary, the villain. To her surprise, Jesus doesn't say "Mary, Mary" but instead addresses her saying, "Martha, Martha, YOU...".
I'm sure that the behavior Martha displayed here was a pattern and characteristic in her life. She was probably always taking on too much, then shifting the blame onto others when she became overwhelmed. She made her lack of planning everyone else’s emergency. Her sister, Mary, had probably come to her rescue time and again and finally said enough is enough! If Mary would’ve gotten involved, she too would have missed Jesus! Sadly, Martha had served to the neglect of her own spiritual health. Imagine, Martha was one of the few humans alive during Christ's short ministry on the earth; she had the opportunity to hear God with skin, and yet she missed out because of busyness. It is also worth noting something extremely important--JESUS NEVER STOPPED HER! He let Martha's free will run its course and when she did come to Him, He helped her by identifying the true issue. Martha didn't appropriate her boundaries and make time or room next to her sister at Jesus' feet. And like the carnal nature displayed in the Garden of Eden, she blamed the one who was closest to her instead of looking at herself. When we don’t take full responsibility for ourselves, we bleed our issues onto our God given family.
Even in our desire to serve God and share Christ with others through Christian service, God treats us like the adults that we are and expects us to know when to say when. We must monitor our own limits or we will fall victim to spiritual apathy, rifts in brotherly and sisterly relationships, and just plain missing out on Jesus. When we grow up in the things of God, we become responsible citizens of His kingdom who deal well in our Christian family relationships.
Scripture of the Day: "Now while they were on their way, it occurred that Jesus entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha received and welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was listening to His teaching." - Luke 10:38 (AMP)
Friday, June 8, 2012
Blood is Thicker Than Water
Dealing with family can be very challenging to say the least. Let’s face it; we all have some sort of mess in our family. No family is squeaky clean. Growing up, the way we talked to one another was normal, at least for us. I kind of knew something was different, but I couldn’t prove it. Until I got older and started hanging around my friends and their families, I started to think; maybe we are not so normal. You start to compare and take notes.
Thinking this family gets along great and everybody “seems” happy. Comparing is not the best thing to do either because you can feel worst about your family and start believing the fairy tales of those that simply put… know how to hide their stuff. I have to admit, I wasn’t very good at hiding much. You could see my stuff on my face, but there are those that are professionals. You would never know the abuse, the hurt, and pain they dealt with on a daily bases. I used to think I was the only one who had dysfunction in my family, but now I know better. Family is important and God created family. He told Adam and Eve to go and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Family if united can change a nation. Family can do more together than they could ever do apart. Family united is a force, a weapon, and a powerful blow to the enemy.
There is no greater army. This is why the enemy loves division in a family. We don’t realize who the real enemy is. We have to wake up BELIEVER’S and stand up for our families. Pray, fast, communicate with one another, clear the air and win the battle against division in our families. The enemy can only have them if we let him take them. Remember what you see your uncle is doing, your sister is doing, or your mother is doing, is just a repeat of what’s been done before. It’s called a generational curse. Iniquity passed down from generation to generation. It’s time to wake up church! How can you know the enemy of the nations and not know the enemy fighting your family. Set the captives free in your family. I know it is challenging, but what you do in secret He will reward you openly (Matthew 6:4). God will heal your family, because it is important to Him.
Scripture of the Day: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” - Psalm 133:1
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Pass It Along
Some US market researchers recently studied Twitter, to check out what kind of information is being posted on its web service. If you're not familiar with it, Twitter is a social networking site where people can pass along short messages, called "tweets," to their subscribers. Here's what they found:
Over 40 percent of the "tweets" were "Pointless Babble," stuff like "I'm having a sandwich." Another 37 percent were listed as "Conversational," basically instant messages sent from one individual to another. Less than nine percent had any "Pass-Along Value," and "Self-Promotion," "Spam," and "News" items were even smaller than that. So, by far, the majority of the communication is trivial.
It's interesting that the subscribers to the "tweets" are called "followers." And it's interesting that those they're following are telling them things that are unimportant. Now, don't get the idea that I'm criticizing Twitter or similar web-based communication sites. I'm not. I use them myself, and my church in Albuquerque is on Twitter. (You can sign up to get our "tweets," if you like. I promise we won't give you pointless babble!)
But here's what I'm getting at. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a follower of the Savior of the world. You know the one who gave His life as a ransom for yours, and for anyone who believes. You have information that has "pass-along value." You know how people can be saved from the power of sin in their lives, and from the punishment for those sins.
So your communication should be more than just "pointless babble." It should be about the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Note that--your salvation is a gift from God! Isn't that wonderful news?
But look at Romans 10:14-15. "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!'"
Verse 12 reminds us that God "is rich to all who call upon him," and verse 13 says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." But first they have to get that message. Your job, and the job of every believer in Jesus Christ, is to make sure you pass it along to them.
Scripture Of The Day: "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" - Romans 10:14 (NKJV)
Over 40 percent of the "tweets" were "Pointless Babble," stuff like "I'm having a sandwich." Another 37 percent were listed as "Conversational," basically instant messages sent from one individual to another. Less than nine percent had any "Pass-Along Value," and "Self-Promotion," "Spam," and "News" items were even smaller than that. So, by far, the majority of the communication is trivial.
It's interesting that the subscribers to the "tweets" are called "followers." And it's interesting that those they're following are telling them things that are unimportant. Now, don't get the idea that I'm criticizing Twitter or similar web-based communication sites. I'm not. I use them myself, and my church in Albuquerque is on Twitter. (You can sign up to get our "tweets," if you like. I promise we won't give you pointless babble!)
But here's what I'm getting at. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a follower of the Savior of the world. You know the one who gave His life as a ransom for yours, and for anyone who believes. You have information that has "pass-along value." You know how people can be saved from the power of sin in their lives, and from the punishment for those sins.
So your communication should be more than just "pointless babble." It should be about the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Note that--your salvation is a gift from God! Isn't that wonderful news?
But look at Romans 10:14-15. "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!'"
Verse 12 reminds us that God "is rich to all who call upon him," and verse 13 says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." But first they have to get that message. Your job, and the job of every believer in Jesus Christ, is to make sure you pass it along to them.
Scripture Of The Day: "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" - Romans 10:14 (NKJV)
Time To Take A Stand
A few days ago, I picked up a copy of a local community paper and was delighted to see a positive story about families. They highlighted a few local fathers that made family priority in their lives. It was such a great change from what we usually see in media about family.
Unfortunately, it has become the norm to read about broken families, abusive parents, dead beat dads, alcoholic moms and unruly children. What's even more unfortunate is we see this just as much in the Body of Christ as we do outside.
So what do we do as Christians? Do we sit back and allow this to continue and just accept it as the way things are? Or do we take a stand and work to put family back in its proper God ordained order? The Bible equips us with the needed guidelines for families to come together as a strong unit. The question is, will we follow those guidelines?
Here are just a few ...
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her with the washing of water by the word that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she should be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:25 - 27
"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." Ephesians 5:22Colossians 3:21 Ephesians 6:1-3
"Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord." Colossians 3:20
"Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." Colossians 3:21
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth." Ephesians 6
If we began to follow these and all the other family guidelines outlined in the Bible, can you imagine the changes we would see in our family structures? The Body of Christ could finally become the standard instead of following what the world says the standard is.
As strong family units, we would be able to live a life filled with joy and peace knowing that even when storms arise, we are surrounded with a support system in place to help us get through it. We would be able to share Christ with unbelievers through our actions and not just our words ...which is always more powerful of a testimony anyway.
And the best part about God is, it doesn't matter how messed up things may seem within your family today. If you turn it over to HIM, He will meet you right where you are and show you how to rebuild your current situation.
It's not too late ... and things are not too screwed up. Nothing is too big for our God. We just have to make the decision that it's time to take a stand for families and build according to God's direction and instruction.
Scripture Of The Day: "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." - Colossians 3:21 (NKJV)
Tanya S. Martin-James is the author of From Promiscuity to Proverbs 31: Getting Off the Fence of Sexual Immorality (http://www.armedanddangerous.biz). Her devotional, Coffee Moments: A Work in Progress will be available July 2011. She also blogs at http://www.mycoffeemoments.com.…
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