In whatever you do always remember that you are in charge of your feelings, beliefs, and actions. And you teach others how to behave toward you.
While you cannot change other people, you can influence them through your own behaviors and actions. By being a living role model of what you want to receive from others, you create more of what you want in your life.
It is with this idea in mind that I choose to do unto others what I expect them to do unto me. However we are all never perfect and are bound to fail in one way or another but since the finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling, it is my hope that we will treat ourselves and one another thus tenderly.
I will count myself to be successful only if I am able to laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children, to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate beauty; to give of one's self, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because I have lived
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
RELEVANT AND PRACTICAL LIVING
In today's technology-influenced, cynical, anything-goes-world, is Christianity practical? Is it realistic and useful, or just a 2,000 year-old fairy tale?
All you have to do is look around to see that modern society seems to condone just the opposite of Christian principles: Grab yours first. Don't worry about the other guy. Do whatever you have to to get to the top.
Money is the most important thing in life. Have sex with as many people as you want. Don't be concerned about other people's feelings. The poor are lazy, stupid people who don't want to work. There's no god, heaven or hell, so live it up and do whatever you please. That, unfortunately, is what millions of people believe.
Maybe that's a pessimistic assessment of how things are today. Yet that's exactly what we see on television and in movies.
Are Christians naive suckers who are being conned by feel-good preachers promising pie-in-the-sky? Is Christianity practical or is it a just a quaint relic from a simpler time?
A recent book on the missional church argues that we need to "reinvent the church" in "revolutionary" ways so that we can "incarnate the gospel within a specific cultural context."
I found one example of such a church on the Internet, a congregation in Florida whose very name is Relevant. Here is its description:
"Relevant is a casual, contemporary, Christian church meeting at the Italian Club in Ybor City, Florida. Our service is designed specifically for college students, urban professionals and young families. At Relevant, we feel that it's our responsibility to "clear the way" for you to come to church. We want you to be able to experience the great music, encouraging messages, friendly people and enjoyable atmosphere that are a part of Relevant."
People who shut out God go from one thing to another trying to get peace and fulfillment, but they never find it.
Materialism? A house full of junk brings no peace, just a hunger for morejunk.
Affairs? Sooner or later, the shallowness and futility of that life ends in the terrible toll of self-loathing.
Career? Companyloyalty is a joke. Have a bad month or a bad year and you're thrownaway like a piece of trash.
Jesus Christ is real. Jesus Christ matters. Jesus Christ is eminently practical and totally fulfilling, moreso in today's worldthan ever before.
Who knows better how to live than the God who created your life? Whocan teach you lasting values better than the God who has alwaysexisted? And who can heal your hurts better than the God who loves you so much he took alll your sins upon himself to save you?
Is Christianity practical? It is the only way practical in this world, and your only guarantee of neverending happiness in the next.
All you have to do is look around to see that modern society seems to condone just the opposite of Christian principles: Grab yours first. Don't worry about the other guy. Do whatever you have to to get to the top.
Money is the most important thing in life. Have sex with as many people as you want. Don't be concerned about other people's feelings. The poor are lazy, stupid people who don't want to work. There's no god, heaven or hell, so live it up and do whatever you please. That, unfortunately, is what millions of people believe.
Maybe that's a pessimistic assessment of how things are today. Yet that's exactly what we see on television and in movies.
Are Christians naive suckers who are being conned by feel-good preachers promising pie-in-the-sky? Is Christianity practical or is it a just a quaint relic from a simpler time?
A recent book on the missional church argues that we need to "reinvent the church" in "revolutionary" ways so that we can "incarnate the gospel within a specific cultural context."
I found one example of such a church on the Internet, a congregation in Florida whose very name is Relevant. Here is its description:
"Relevant is a casual, contemporary, Christian church meeting at the Italian Club in Ybor City, Florida. Our service is designed specifically for college students, urban professionals and young families. At Relevant, we feel that it's our responsibility to "clear the way" for you to come to church. We want you to be able to experience the great music, encouraging messages, friendly people and enjoyable atmosphere that are a part of Relevant."
People who shut out God go from one thing to another trying to get peace and fulfillment, but they never find it.
Materialism? A house full of junk brings no peace, just a hunger for morejunk.
Affairs? Sooner or later, the shallowness and futility of that life ends in the terrible toll of self-loathing.
Career? Companyloyalty is a joke. Have a bad month or a bad year and you're thrownaway like a piece of trash.
Jesus Christ is real. Jesus Christ matters. Jesus Christ is eminently practical and totally fulfilling, moreso in today's worldthan ever before.
Who knows better how to live than the God who created your life? Whocan teach you lasting values better than the God who has alwaysexisted? And who can heal your hurts better than the God who loves you so much he took alll your sins upon himself to save you?
Is Christianity practical? It is the only way practical in this world, and your only guarantee of neverending happiness in the next.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
MEN / WOMEN
MEN
===========
Men are too visually oriented and don't give themselves a chance to know a woman who doesn't meet their visual ideal. It seems to be a physiological fact that men respond to visual stimuli much more than women, and women respond to verbal stimuli more than men. That has given rise to the notion that a woman can be 'sweet-talked' into anything, and sometimes that's true. But it's also true that an over-emphasis on visual input has many dangers.
The qualities that make a relationship meaningful and durable are not how someone looks. Yet many single men simply refuse to associate with or get to know a woman at all unless she visually meets their standards. Let me tell you that you may pass up a terrific woman by refusing to get to know her simply because she's not exactly what you were dreaming of.
For some men, it's shape or size that is most important. For others it's hair or skin. But most men, if honest, would admit that they really place a high importance on some aspect of the physical appearance of a woman.
While I'm not proposing that men should miraculously change their physiological makeup and dismiss appearance as a non-essential, I am suggesting that this tendency can get out of hand easily, and a Christian man needs to check it out. 'Looks don't last, cookin' do,' the old adage goes, and there's something there to think about.
WOMEN
=========
If you're a single Christian woman, have you ever said, 'Where can I find a really sharp Christian man?' I admit it's not easy. Men think it's not easy to find just the woman they want either, but it's no secret that there are usually more women than men involved in church and Christian groups. That's true in every category-young, old, single or married. It's also true that there are more women than men in this world. So, there don't seem to be enough to go around.
Faced with this fact, we must learn to live with it and not allow ourselves to go nuts over any Christian man who comes along, nor allow ourselves to be plunged into despair. A couple of probing questions to ask yourself to keep from this is:
What is your first thought when you see or meet a new Christian man? Let me guess: Is he single? Or Is he taken? Now, I don't know if you'll ever be able to stop that first thought, but the secret here is to immediately abandon that line of thinking. Say to yourself, 'This is first of all a person. I will relate to him as I would to any new person I was meeting. I will not allow myself to look at him as a potential partner.'
Do you find you are feeling sorry for yourself or commiserating with other single women about the shortage of men? I frequently hear talk like this among single women. It's not a great topic for conversation, for you to simply keep reinforcing the idea that there's a big problem finding a Christian man, because that starts affecting your thinking. It causes depression and dreariness. I see it on the faces of single women so often-the look that says, 'Oh, poor me, I'm a good Christian woman, but where are the Christian men?'
It's one thing to recognize the shortage. It's another thing to let that reality control and depress you. I have discovered that often when I'm having difficulty accepting some situation, it goes back to my lack of trust in the sovereignty of God. When you really focus on believing that God is in control, it changes your outlook on the circumstances of your life. You have to trust him; nothing else makes sense.
Most single women don't believe that God can truly make them fulfilled and happy except through marriage. That attitude really limits God's ability to work in our lives. You know, we keep putting the cart before the horse. We don't find fulfillment by filling up our lives with things that we think will make us happy, such as a man. We find fulfillment when we stop looking for it and concentrate instead on knowing God.
===========
Men are too visually oriented and don't give themselves a chance to know a woman who doesn't meet their visual ideal. It seems to be a physiological fact that men respond to visual stimuli much more than women, and women respond to verbal stimuli more than men. That has given rise to the notion that a woman can be 'sweet-talked' into anything, and sometimes that's true. But it's also true that an over-emphasis on visual input has many dangers.
The qualities that make a relationship meaningful and durable are not how someone looks. Yet many single men simply refuse to associate with or get to know a woman at all unless she visually meets their standards. Let me tell you that you may pass up a terrific woman by refusing to get to know her simply because she's not exactly what you were dreaming of.
For some men, it's shape or size that is most important. For others it's hair or skin. But most men, if honest, would admit that they really place a high importance on some aspect of the physical appearance of a woman.
While I'm not proposing that men should miraculously change their physiological makeup and dismiss appearance as a non-essential, I am suggesting that this tendency can get out of hand easily, and a Christian man needs to check it out. 'Looks don't last, cookin' do,' the old adage goes, and there's something there to think about.
WOMEN
=========
If you're a single Christian woman, have you ever said, 'Where can I find a really sharp Christian man?' I admit it's not easy. Men think it's not easy to find just the woman they want either, but it's no secret that there are usually more women than men involved in church and Christian groups. That's true in every category-young, old, single or married. It's also true that there are more women than men in this world. So, there don't seem to be enough to go around.
Faced with this fact, we must learn to live with it and not allow ourselves to go nuts over any Christian man who comes along, nor allow ourselves to be plunged into despair. A couple of probing questions to ask yourself to keep from this is:
What is your first thought when you see or meet a new Christian man? Let me guess: Is he single? Or Is he taken? Now, I don't know if you'll ever be able to stop that first thought, but the secret here is to immediately abandon that line of thinking. Say to yourself, 'This is first of all a person. I will relate to him as I would to any new person I was meeting. I will not allow myself to look at him as a potential partner.'
Do you find you are feeling sorry for yourself or commiserating with other single women about the shortage of men? I frequently hear talk like this among single women. It's not a great topic for conversation, for you to simply keep reinforcing the idea that there's a big problem finding a Christian man, because that starts affecting your thinking. It causes depression and dreariness. I see it on the faces of single women so often-the look that says, 'Oh, poor me, I'm a good Christian woman, but where are the Christian men?'
It's one thing to recognize the shortage. It's another thing to let that reality control and depress you. I have discovered that often when I'm having difficulty accepting some situation, it goes back to my lack of trust in the sovereignty of God. When you really focus on believing that God is in control, it changes your outlook on the circumstances of your life. You have to trust him; nothing else makes sense.
Most single women don't believe that God can truly make them fulfilled and happy except through marriage. That attitude really limits God's ability to work in our lives. You know, we keep putting the cart before the horse. We don't find fulfillment by filling up our lives with things that we think will make us happy, such as a man. We find fulfillment when we stop looking for it and concentrate instead on knowing God.
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