If you love your spouse, your husband, then support his dream. I know so many women who demand that their life, their dreams comes first. I am not saying that a wife's dream about her life and her children's in terms of self satisfaction and future is not important nor am I saying that both spouses, husband and wife, can't simultaneously support each others dreams, she/they can. A Godly woman though should know God's hierarchy (God- husband-wife* see Ephesians 5:22); and when meeting her potential husband, learn what his dream in life is before getting married. What a joy to find out that his dream is (her) your dream too. If his dream is differently from hers and they still pursue marriage, both can support each others' dream; but, that takes a lot of due diligence and sacrifice as in being inconvenienced from time to time of one's own dream pursuit about life in this world.
I knew a dream killer and that was not good for me and my dream. Worse, is that I failed to realize I too was a dream killer; life was not just about me and my comfort zone. It takes a lot of courage to be a 'rock' for someone else. To be the main support, main fan, and or cheerleader before putting one's own agenda/goals first.
If you love your spouse, put aside your dream and let his dreams come true. It may in fact result in your dreams coming true!
Monday, September 8, 2014
Everyday Living can be Mundane
Some of us,moms especially, wonder if there is nothing more in life than cooking, cleaning and laundry. The mundane can appear cruel. Think of it as a means of preparation for eternity of enjoying your reward in heaven. We like to imagine that heaven is one big party where we can do everything we want, changing up whenever we feel like it. But, that is not the case. In heaven we will rule as our reward and the amount of ruling will be based on our lives here. If you can do the same ole thing everyday here and rejoice in that, your reward in heaven will be even more wonderful. "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." Rev 22:12 "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations." Rev 2:26
I know that the everyday can be mundane, but delight in what you have and though you may clean up the same mess a thousand times, do with with a light heart. "I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121
I know that the everyday can be mundane, but delight in what you have and though you may clean up the same mess a thousand times, do with with a light heart. "I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121
Friday, September 5, 2014
Getting UnStuck in Your Marriage
Today on Walk in the Word with Pastor James McDonald, you can listen to advice on getting unstuck in your marriage. Are you stuck? What does that mean? It means that you and your spouse are not moving forward in your marriage in the sense that you are not growing in love with one another. You might think that you can only reach a certain point when it comes to loving your spouse but that is not the case. You can grow more in love even if you think you have love between you or no longer have any. How? Pastor James McDonald tells us that marriage was God’s idea from the beginning and He has a lot to say about how you can move yours forward into health and vitality. Again how is that possible. Whether you are in love or no longer feeling like you are in love, Pastor McDonald provides wise words to either grow more or get back in love. When I listened to his radio program today on Walk in the Word, I heard one thing that stood out for me. The one thing that I knew was important - exclusiveness. This more than anything else is the key. In our relationship with our spouse, as in our relationship with God, (He is a jealous God) we need to share things with our spouse, with God, that we share with no one else. It creates a space/place that is private, even secretive. We confide in our spouse as we confide in God, we exchange certain words that we only share with our spouse, we exchange glances, gestures, and we touch our spouse in ways that are only for him/her. Exclusiveness is key. You have a favorite song, restaurant, movie that you is yours and no one else' s... including conversations about certain topics that belong to only the two of you!
Getting unstuck is about reconnecting with those exclusive things that you share or creating new ones.
Check out Pastor James McDonald's website to hear his radio program on getting unstuck.
http://jamesmacdonald.com/radio/getting-unstuck-in-your-marriage-3/
Inconvenienced for the sake of others!
Americans don't like being inconvenienced... We like to do what we want to do, in fact we feel that we have the right to do only that which makes us happy. Being a Christian means being inconvenienced for the sake of others. What does that mean? It means extending yourself, going beyond your own imagination of what life should be like. It sounds painful to a lot of people since they immediately think that it means leaving the self behind. It does and does not mean that. It depends on how you accept that extending yourself as a calling, a fulfilling calling. It means going out of your way to do for others what you would expect others to do for you. Of course, some people say I don't like others doing for me and I don't expect others to do for me. "If my car breaks down, I will just walk, I don't need a ride". Little do they think it could be on a 100 degree August afternoon and on the freeway with limited shoulder space. "I have my own kids to take care of." Little do they think there could be a day when they are sick and not able to drive their kids to school in the morning."I don't think we would have anything in common, look at the car he drives. Little do they know that he has an awesome slot car track in his basement. "I'd like to host a bible study, but my house is too small." Little do they know that God's house is big enough for everyone.
I am not talking about 'works'. I am talking about paying attention to troubles in your neighbors life, or family members' lives and taking the cross from them when they can't carry it.
I am not talking about 'works'. I am talking about paying attention to troubles in your neighbors life, or family members' lives and taking the cross from them when they can't carry it.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Faithfullness When Faced with Trouble
Faithfulness in times of Trouble... I wrote yesterday about Hosea. He needed to be faithful to God even when His wife could not be faithful to him. Some might say that Hosea should have expected that given Gomer's line of work/situation. Should we go through life expecting things to be as we find them and no more than that??? No, we should expect better always and by doing that we show God that we are faithful to Him,we are in relationship with Him. We can teach our children to expect better, we should teach our children to expect better from others, from themselves. They to teach this is to model it. We can express disappointment but we should also show that we desire more from them and that we are confident in our expectations. You see, speaking as a sociologist, expectations are necessary to live an everyday life as well as one that goes beyond the everyday. If we have high expectations for the everyday, we are thus able to reach higher and beyond the everyday and by doing so we open new doors of opportunity and prosperity. We grow in positive imagination and this is virtuoso.
So in fact, God was asking Hosea to be virtuoso and introduce that into the life of his wife, saving himself and her. It is through relationship that we can be virtuous. Being in relationship with God causes us to be virtuous and this is good for us (for everyone) and this is all that God wants. Therefore, when we face trouble, we are able to see the way out because of virtue through relationship with God. Virtue in our life is God expects because He is with us and we are with Him. He wants us to expect good things, and so we should expect good things even when faced with trouble.
So in fact, God was asking Hosea to be virtuoso and introduce that into the life of his wife, saving himself and her. It is through relationship that we can be virtuous. Being in relationship with God causes us to be virtuous and this is good for us (for everyone) and this is all that God wants. Therefore, when we face trouble, we are able to see the way out because of virtue through relationship with God. Virtue in our life is God expects because He is with us and we are with Him. He wants us to expect good things, and so we should expect good things even when faced with trouble.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
E.K. Bailey on Our Relationship with God
Today, I read the most amazing retelling of Hosea by the late E.K. Bailey. What a powerful voice Bailey had, what a powerful sermon as it is one that fits to our today's culture, struggle with sin, and a message that directly steers us toward understand our relationship with God.
Below is not the excerpt from Bailey's sermon but an interpretation of Hosea and the basic summary of E.K. Bailey's sermon.
In Hosea 1:2 we read, “The LORD said to Hosea, ‘Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.’” Hosea obeyed, marrying a woman named Gomer, who was unfaithful to him. Why did God tell Hosea to marry a prostitute?
To begin with, it is important to realize this command could be understood two different ways. First, and more likely, this command could be one of anticipation. In other words, God may have instructed Hosea to marry a woman who would later become unfaithful to him. The other possibility is that the command was for Hosea to marry someone already known as a prostitute.
In either case, the reason for this unusual directive is specified in the latter half of the same verse: “For the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” God wanted to provide an illustration of His relationship with the people of Israel, who had been unfaithful to Him by practicing idolatry. This theme is carried through the remainder of the prophecies in chapter 1 and the discussion of Israel’s unfaithfulness in chapter 2.
In Hosea 3:1, after Gomer had left Hosea and was living in immorality, the Lord commanded Hosea to find her and buy her back. God was continuing His illustration, except now He wanted to show the greatness of His grace: “Even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods.” Hosea’s faithful love of Gomer was an illustration of God’s faithfulness to wayward Israel. Just as Gomer had been unfaithful to her husband and had to be redeemed, Israel needed God’s initiative to restore their relationship.
The prophet Hosea was commanded to marry an unfaithful wife, and this set up a model of Israel’s broken relationship with God. Israel had been chosen and loved by God yet had been unfaithful to Him by way of idolatry. Just as Hosea redeemed his estranged wife and sought to continue his relationship with her, God promised to redeem Israel and renew their relationship with Him. The story of Hosea and Gomer is an unforgettable picture of God’s strong, unending love for His covenant people.
Below is not the excerpt from Bailey's sermon but an interpretation of Hosea and the basic summary of E.K. Bailey's sermon.
In Hosea 1:2 we read, “The LORD said to Hosea, ‘Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.’” Hosea obeyed, marrying a woman named Gomer, who was unfaithful to him. Why did God tell Hosea to marry a prostitute?
To begin with, it is important to realize this command could be understood two different ways. First, and more likely, this command could be one of anticipation. In other words, God may have instructed Hosea to marry a woman who would later become unfaithful to him. The other possibility is that the command was for Hosea to marry someone already known as a prostitute.
In either case, the reason for this unusual directive is specified in the latter half of the same verse: “For the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” God wanted to provide an illustration of His relationship with the people of Israel, who had been unfaithful to Him by practicing idolatry. This theme is carried through the remainder of the prophecies in chapter 1 and the discussion of Israel’s unfaithfulness in chapter 2.
In Hosea 3:1, after Gomer had left Hosea and was living in immorality, the Lord commanded Hosea to find her and buy her back. God was continuing His illustration, except now He wanted to show the greatness of His grace: “Even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods.” Hosea’s faithful love of Gomer was an illustration of God’s faithfulness to wayward Israel. Just as Gomer had been unfaithful to her husband and had to be redeemed, Israel needed God’s initiative to restore their relationship.
The prophet Hosea was commanded to marry an unfaithful wife, and this set up a model of Israel’s broken relationship with God. Israel had been chosen and loved by God yet had been unfaithful to Him by way of idolatry. Just as Hosea redeemed his estranged wife and sought to continue his relationship with her, God promised to redeem Israel and renew their relationship with Him. The story of Hosea and Gomer is an unforgettable picture of God’s strong, unending love for His covenant people.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Teaching Godly Children - we are in this world but not of it!
Teaching Godly children is a difficult task today, more so than in any other time given the technology at hand and the lack of morals/ethics in today's post modern global world. We as parents have a tendency to spoil our child even just by wanting the best for him/her. But what is the problem with that. The problem is that we may not be leading our children into a Godly life. We may in fact be indulging them and or directing them toward a life of self indulgence and instant gratification. We have to teach our children that though we are in this world, we are not of. 2 Cor 10:2-3 "I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as
I expect to be toward some people who think that we live b the
standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage
war as the world does." John 15:18-19 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world".
How do we teach our children this? That is a good question. We must not let children break the rules we set for them in terms of expected Godly behavior. We hold fast to our faith and let our children be witness to that. We do not idolize things which keep us from growing in relationship with God, this is what children need to learn. We teach them to be patient and to be kind yet defensive of their faith and ready to defend their fellow Christian. We do not let them be exposed to windows/doors of evil whether found in music, television, social media or on the streets of the community/neighborhood.
Be steadfast parents and ask God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ for guidance and trust in Him and His social 'Godly' hierarchy - father/husband, wife/mother and children.
How do we teach our children this? That is a good question. We must not let children break the rules we set for them in terms of expected Godly behavior. We hold fast to our faith and let our children be witness to that. We do not idolize things which keep us from growing in relationship with God, this is what children need to learn. We teach them to be patient and to be kind yet defensive of their faith and ready to defend their fellow Christian. We do not let them be exposed to windows/doors of evil whether found in music, television, social media or on the streets of the community/neighborhood.
Be steadfast parents and ask God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ for guidance and trust in Him and His social 'Godly' hierarchy - father/husband, wife/mother and children.
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