Why Bishop Eddie Long Should Be Transparent

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

The church has had enough spin, denial and closed-door settlements. Leaders must demonstrate humility and repentance.

A few years ago a minister in my city went through a divorce, and the messy details of the settlement between the pastor and his wife were reported in our newspaper. But when the divorce was finalized there was no public statement. The man’s wife disappeared from the stage, her photo vanished from the church website and nothing further was said. Zip. Nada. No comment.

The message: It’s none of your business what happened between the pastor and his wife. He’s the anointed messenger of God. Just follow him.

“People who talk out of both sides of their mouths certainly cannot preach an uncompromised gospel. And liars cannot be trusted to give us the truth.”

Snowball Your Way Out of Debt

There are many ways to get out of debt. Some are helpful; some are actually harmful. One strategy that often fails is debt consolidation. In our opinion there is always a better way.

Debt consolidation looks so appealing, but there are some dangers. You will possibly end up paying a much higher rate for a much longer term, so it costs you dearly. Also, debt consolidation can backfire if you look at your new, low monthly payment and decide that you can afford to make some other purchases on credit. Then you repeat the cycle that got you into financial bondage in the first place.

Remember that there are companies out there who seem to be offering you help, but in reality they are just increasing your financial bondage and their profits.

A far better system is one that helps you develop discipline and contentment while giving you the satisfaction of seeing your debt load steadily decrease. That is the beauty of the Snowball. I must tell you that we do not know who first came up with this plan or the name for it, but whoever it is we thank them! Many people have been helped by it.

Mastering Money, Part 2

Defeating the Debt Monster

If you are already in financial bondage, you will need to take some decisive steps toward freedom. Picture yourself in a deep hole. Here's a ladder that will let you climb out.

Step One: Recognize why you are in financial bondage.

Don't blame the economy. You must recognize that the real reason for your financial problems is your own unsound decisions. Times may be difficult, but many people survive difficult financial times because they follow the right principles and make wise resolutions.

Step Two: Do not borrow any more money from any person or any company.

This is a real step of faith shown by action. "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" (James 2:14) Right actions must accompany faith, not just any actions. If you steadfastly decide not to borrow or buy anything on credit, God will honor your faith and provide honorable ways to meet your needs.

Worship Team 3 July 2011

Chairperson: Hong Lu

Worship Leader: Shankar R.
Back-ups: Siew Pin, Lydia Sim, Foong Yee

Pianist: Meng Fhui
Synth: Jonathan L
Guitarist: Ken Fhui
Bass: Weng Ern
Drummer: Anna Sim

Projectionist: Joseph Yap

PA Personnel: Manjit Singh, Tommy Q.

Sunday Sermon 26-June-2011 - Dr. Lay Kee Neu

Speaker: Dr. Lay Kee Neu
Full Gospel Mission Centre, Jelebu

http://www.mediafire.com/?15nq24z5ogw67dz

Mastering Money

Marriage counselors all agree that money problems are a chief source of marital stress. The following letter to John and Anne, a couple experiencing financial difficulties, gives some good, practical advice to couples about managing their finances. Without a doubt, money matters.

Dear John and Anne,

I hope you'll take this letter in the spirit of love and compassion in which I send it. Ever since I came to know about your financial difficulties, I've been deeply concerned for you. When a friend complained you had borrowed money from him and had not repaid it, I knew the problem was really serious. I soon discovered that you were in debt to many people, sometimes borrowing from one to pay something to the others. That’s quite desperate, wouldn’t you agree?

I want to share some principles with you that will help you recover from your financial snare. Of course, you are not alone. Many, many people find themselves caught in the same net. Like a trapped animal they fight against their bonds, spending all their strength and more than all their money. There is a way out, but it comes by humbly applying God's wisdom, not by frantically scheming.

Judas, The Man Who Never Knew

by Max Lucado

I’ve wondered at times what kind of man this Judas was. What he looked like, how he acted, who his friends were.

I guess I’ve stereotyped him. I’ve always pictured him as a wiry, beady-eyed, sly, wormy fellow, pointed beard and all. I’ve pictured him as estranged from the other apostles.

Friendless. Distant. Undoubtedly he was a traitor and a quisling. Probably the result of a broken home. A juvenile delinquent in his youth.

Yet I wonder if that is so true. We have no evidence (save Judas’s silence) that would suggest that he was isolated. At the Last Supper, when Jesus said that his betrayer sat at the table, we don’t find the apostles immediately turning to Judas as the logical traitor.

Booby Traps and Blowups

It wasn’t a great day for the Wilson marriage. Ninety-nine percent of their days were just wonderful, but this wasn’t one of them. If the day I am talking about had been videotaped, they would certainly want it erased.

It all started with an innocent comment Joyce, the wife, made about a project she and George had been working on. Joyce and their son, Morgan, had found a solution that George had spent hours tracking down. George should have felt happy about the solution. “Good job! That’s great!” That would have been a healthy response. But he didn’t. George became sullen, brooding, even angry. Actually, his reaction surprised him. It wasn’t the way he wanted to act, and he certainly didn’t plan it. His reaction was completely out-of sync with his usual responses. So why did he do it?

George analyzed that for hours. As we discussed the reaction, he said that he felt offended that he was left out. He wanted to feel that he was part of the process, a supplier of answers, a problem-solver. Instead he felt useless. Joyce and Morgan surely didn’t need his help. They had it all figured out.

Keep On Praying—a Breakthrough Is Near

  J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

Don’t lose hope. God has promised to answer when we persevere.

So you pray for something for years and then you wake up one day, breathe a big sigh and say to yourself: This is crazy. Nothing is happening. God must not be listening.

Congratulations. If this has been your experience you are not alone. You’ve been enrolled in the School of Persevering Prayer, and it’s not a one-semester class. It’s a lifelong journey designed to stretch your faith, develop your character, purify your motives, test your patience and increase your capacity to know and experience God’s amazing love.

“Have you ever been around a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy? She is often in a state of agitation—ready to give birth but weary of the strain. I know many Christians today who are in this same uncomfortable stage of spiritual travail.”

At Least Get Paid for It!

by Mark Gungor

There is a misconception, a mistaken way of thinking among Christians when it comes to having sex outside of marriage. Here is what many people think:

• The best circumstance to have sex in is within the bounds of matrimony or if you are not married, to remain sexually pure.
• The next best scenario is having sex with your boyfriend/girlfriend…but while you really shouldn’t do it, most people will give a pass to those who do. Because after all, you love each other, it’s just so difficult to wait; you can’t really control yourselves when you feel so strongly about one another.
• Then the lowest and most unacceptable sex (in most people’s minds) is prostitution—those who get paid to engage in sexual acts.

But that’s not actually how the list goes…at least according to the scripture in Ezekiel 16. Here God is chastising the nation of Israel for their unfaithfulness. And He uses the analogy of prostitutes when He says:

Get Out of Jail Free

Do you ever associate two or more thoughts or events that are completely unrelated? When we do that we will always arrive at faulty conclusions. Faulty conclusions frustrate relationships.

A friend of mine received a pretty severe reprimand at his work. It was an unpleasant experience for him, but he bore up under it. The next day his powerful computer was missing form his desk. His manager told him someone else needed it and assured him there was no connection to the reprimand.

Now my friend had a choice: either believe the two incidents were unrelated, or make a wrong connection. He chose to believe his manager. By leaving the two events unconnected he prevented friction from developing. Had he believed that the two events were connected, regardless of his boss's assurances, he would have reported to work everyday with a cloud over his head.

You're In The Jailhouse Now

Mark comes home from work. He’s tired, so he doesn't greet his wife, Sally, with much enthusiasm. That morning she awoke late, causing more tension than usual in their morning routine. Sally makes a connection between those two separate incidents. Watch the process:

Announcement: Morning Watch

Dear All,

Morning Watch:
The present Morning Watch in church has been marked by poor response for church members due to reasons of their own. There were people attending but more often than not it was poorly attended.

I am informing you that Bro. Liong and Bro. Michael Lim have graciously opened their homes for morning watches w.e.f. 2nd. July, 2011 between 8-9am.

• Zone 1 will be handle by Michael Lim at S2 and surrounding areas.
• Zone 2 will be handle by Liong KC at Bukit Jade and surrounding areas.
• If God wills we will like to open one at Blossom Heights and surrounding areas.

 Members of the church can contact Bro. Michael and Bro. Liong as to whether their watches are on or cancelled. We will have a briefing as to what should take place at our morning watches.Why are the people not attending? I could think of the following reasons:

• Time not suitable.
• Venue not suitable.
• Do not want to get the children up early as it is the only day in a week that children can sleep abit longer.
• Working people after 5 days of getting up early would like to sleep also for a bit longer.

The morning watches can only be conducted in homes that have air-condition since we do not want to disturb the neighbours by our singing and speaking in tongue. Morning Watches can be cancelled when the majority of the members within the group decides to do so. We want maximum participation. There is strength in numbers. 

Music & Worship Duty Roster

Please get it here

The ABCs of Healthy Communication

The human body needs basic elements to thrive and last. So does your marriage. With these qualities, expression and understanding thrive. Without them, they die.

Accept Each Other

Acceptance means taking one another just as you are. The English word even comes from a Latin word that means, literally, to take to oneself. Accepting your spouse doesn’t mean you totally approve of every action or attitude. But it does mean we’re on the same team, and glad of it.

Team members know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Rather than wishing they were on another team, they learn to recognize their strengths and build on them, while strengthening their weaknesses.

The difference in winning and losing is often more about attitude than it is about ability. Sure, other people might have an easier time building a great marriage. They may have strengths that you and your spouse don’t naturally possess. But you are not other people. God knows how to bring you fulfillment, no matter what your flaws are.

Happy Fathers' Day 2011!!

Worship Team 26 June 2011

Chairperson: Dr. Siow KW

Worship leader: Prisca Sim
Vocalist: Lareina, Colleen, Peggy Tan

Pianist: Lydia Sim
Synth: Jocelyn Lee
Guitar: Weng Ern
Bass: Anna Sim
Drums: Ken Fhui

Projectionist: Moses Tan
PA Personnel: Tommy Q, Hiew FF.

Sunday Sermon 19-June-2011 - Bro Liong Kam Chong

Speaker: Bro Liong Kam Chong
White Fields Assembly Seremban

http://www.mediafire.com/?zoalaj6vxlb1l4b

Making Sex a Mutual Joy

Not Taboo

Contrary to the opinion of some, sex is not a topic that God finds taboo. In fact, sex was God's idea. He created us male and female and He instituted marriage with the intent that two would become 'one flesh'. Why then do so many couples fail to find satisfaction in this important area of marriage? I want to suggest one major reason: Unrealistic expectations.

Films, magazines, and novels convey the idea that sexual thrill and mutual satisfaction are automatic. That is simply not true. God told Israel that a young couple should 'take a year' and learn to pleasure each other. What makes us think that we can do so in less time?

The Truth About Sex

Some Christians have a negative attitude toward sex. It may have come from a distorted sex education, an unfortunate sexual experience as a child, or sexual involvement as a teenager that brought disappointment and guilt. The origin is relatively unimportant. The important thing is to understand that we choose our attitudes.

The first step in overcoming a negative attitude is exposure to the truth. The truth about sex is that within marriage it is God ordained and designed to bring mutual pleasure. As in all of life we are called to live by the truth. We admit our negative attitudes and feelings, but we don't serve them. With the help of God we live according to His revealed truth.

Expression and Understanding

The Keys to Communication

Walter, a psychologist, makes his living by helping hurting people. Although Walter cares about the people who come to him, he has learned to care without becoming emotionally involved. It's the only way he can survive the constant stream of critical problems that he faces every day. If he didn't practice a little detachment, he would burn out faster than a cheap candle.

Walter has a wonderful wife, Sharon. Sharon wants Walter (this man who makes his living by listening, understanding, and communicating) to pay some attention to her. However, she needs his attention as a husband, not as a professional. When Sharon has an emotional need, Walter responds calmly and logically, just like he does with his clients. That drives Sharon crazy. She thinks that Walter, the professional counselor, can understand just about anyone but her. She doesn't resent the people he helps. She just wishes Walter would give her more of himself than what he gives his clients.

Today I Will Make a Difference

by Max Lucado

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble… . I will get up. It’s OK to fail… . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

From Shaped by God (original title: On the Anvil)

Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002) Max Lucado

Releasing Liberty in Romania’s Traditional Churches

 J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

In a nation known for communist oppression, intimidation and religious legalism, the Holy Spirit is sending a fresh wind of freedom.

Pentecost is a national holiday in Romania, and I celebrated it last Monday with members of Bucharest Christian Center, a growing congregation in the Romanian capital. The church was founded by my friend Ioan Ceuta, 54, a brave Christian leader who has served as president of the Assemblies of God since 1996. Like so many Romanian pastors who lived through the communist era, Ceuta has walked through fire and emerged stronger in his faith.

Ministry was not easy for Ceuta and his wife, Emilia, during the dark days of Nicolae Ceauşescu, the Romanian dictator who ruled with an iron fist and built one of the world’s largest buildings (second only to the Pentagon). Covert government informants strictly monitored all pastors during Ceauşescu’s era. The construction of church buildings was forbidden, frequency of meetings was limited, and Bibles were blacklisted as “mystical literature.”

“Because of Ceuta’s influence, about 10 percent of the ministers in the Assemblies of God in Romania are women. ‘Romanian ladies are gifted with a potential [for] leadership I have seen in few places in the world,’ ” Ceuta says.

The Tough Lover

Life's a tough proposition, and the first hundred years are the hardest. -Wilson Mizner

What that quotation says about life, we might just as well say about marriage. Strong marriages are always the result of the sustained efforts of determined people. Yes, a mediocre marriage can continue for many years, but what is it worth? We need toughness to build truly successful relationships.

What is toughness, and why does every marriage need it and require it? The dictionary defines tough as . . . strong and durable; capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy. Men and women who have those characteristics build the best marriages, because marriage is much more than romantic emotions or good intentions. A healthy, lasting marriage requires tough, determined, endurance.

Not all strength is what it seems. How often have you heard someone described as a strong person, only to find, when you meet this person, that he or she is really inflexible, demanding, and manipulative? That's not a strong person you met; that's a person hiding weaknesses and fears under a hard shell.

Affirm Your Spouse

Affirm is a great word. In Latin it means to make firm, to strengthen. Applied to facts, it means to add our testimony to the fact to strengthen it. With people, it is similar. When we speak to them in a way that makes them stronger, firmer, more resolute, we are affirming them.

"Dear brothers and sisters, we always thank God for you, as is right, for we are thankful that your faith is flourishing and you are all growing in love for each other." –2 Thessalonians 1:3 (NLT)

Mighty messenger he was, but Paul always had the heart of a father when writing to the young churches. Habitually, he began his letters with affirmation.

Affirmation is a testimony to the truth. It isn’t flattery, for flattery has a self-serving motive. Affirmation is all about strengthening someone else. Your reward will be in knowing how much it has helped.

The Tenderhearted Lover

Some people think that tenderness is a synonym for weakness. Perhaps that is what the author of one book on management had in mind. She suggests that the way to get ahead is to never let anything reach your heart. At least, never let anyone see that it does. Be ruthless. Be aloof. That philosophy makes tenderness a critical weakness. It's also very wrong.

Tenderness makes us responsive to the pleasure or pain of another person. We need tender hearts to have any kind of healthy relationship, whether with friend or spouse. Why, then, do so many married people seem to live in isolation? A chief cause is self-centeredness. Self-centered people only care about what directly affects them. They detach themselves from everything else. In many marriages, that has become the normal condition. Normal, but not healthy.

Developing a tender heart has little connection to personality. True, some people are more emotionally sensitive. I am 100% man, but I cry at poignant moments in movies. Music, whether sung or played, can move me deeply. My heart swells when I hear my nation's anthem. I can go into raptures about a sunrise, though I will see thousands of them in my lifetime. The song of a bird will stop me in my tracks. In short, I am a sensitive man.

Worship Team 19 Jun 2011

Chairperson: Tom C .

Worship Leader: Peter Long
Vocalist: Hong Lu, Foong Yee, Lareina

Pianist: Jonathan L.
Keyboardist: Meng Fhui
Guitarist: Nigel
Bassist: Anna Sim
Drummer: Ken Fhui

Projectionist: Moses Tan

PA Personnel: Manjit Singh, Hiew FF

Sunday Sermon 12-June-2011 - Elder Lim Swee Boon

Speaker: Elder Lim Swee Boon
Chairman Elder & Senior Pastor
White Fields Assembly Seremban

http://www.mediafire.com/?gb9vtv9evgz04cd

The Thankful Lover

My friend’s father had a serious emotional infection. Let’s call it Paralysed Appreciation Disorder, or PAD. He simply could not express thankfulness or appreciation. His wife suffered most from her husband’s disorder. No matter what she did, big or small, her husband would never thank her

Sometimes she tried to force him to express appreciation by doing some distasteful task, like cleaning the mud off his shoes. Still he said nothing. The dear woman didn't want much. She just wanted to know the man she married needed her and appreciated her. Surely every good wife needs that, and deserves it too.

Over the years Ken’s mom became mentally ill, and because of that, unpredictable. Some would say her husband’s lack of appreciation contributed to her illness. It’s possible.

Late in his life, Ken’s dad developed a painful condition that put him in hospital. Ken went to visit his dad one day and found his mother there. She had a big jar of greasy ointment (like Vaseline) which she intended to use to massage her husband’s back. Ken wanted to stop her. Greasing her husband like a pig for roasting could not make him feel any better. Besides, she was crazy right?

The Wedding Prayer

Create in us a love, O Lord.
An eternal love …
Your love.
A love that forgives
any failure,
spans
any distance,
withstands
any tempest.
Create in us a love, O Lord.
A new love.
A fresh love.
A love with the tenderness
of a lamb,
the grandeur
of a mountain,
the strength
of a lion.
And make us one. Intimately one.
As you made a hundred colors into one sunset,
A thousand cedars into one forest,
and countless stars into one galaxy …
make our two hearts as
one,
Father, forever …
that you may be praised, Father,
forever.


From Shaped by God (original title: On the Anvil)
Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002) Max Lucado

Preparing For Marriage: Part 2

If you missed Part 1, you can read it by clicking here.

What I Know

One evening about six weeks after our wedding, Karolyn and I were engaged in a full-fledged argument. In the midst of the argument, she went to a closet, got her raincoat, slammed the front door and walked out into the pouring rain. My first thought was, "Why doesn't she stay and fight like a man?" My second thought was, "What have I done?"

I wish I'd known how to listen, how to respect her ideas and feelings, how to treat her with love, instead of demanding that she agree with me. There is so much I've learned in our 40 plus years of marriage.

The Thoughtful Lover

Behold, the sunny days of courtship! He calls every day, opens doors for her, takes the long way to take her home each night. He does everything to heap attention on her.

She takes special care to look nice for him, maybe cooks a special meal, and does everything she can to show that she likes his attention. Eventually all that thoughtfulness leads to a proposal, an acceptance, and marriage. Let the lifelong joys begin!

Over the years this couple begins acting very differently. In a hundred little ways they stop living as though they matter to one another. Without thoughtfulness, they live in separate worlds, only touching each other’s lives when necessary, and in some cases actually avoiding each other. Such carelessness is dangerous to any marriage.

Two words help us understand thoughtfulness: consideration and awareness.

A Growing Spiritual Hunger in Hungary

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

The passion for revival I saw in eastern Europe this week rivaled what I have seen in Africa or Asia.

Europe is often described as post-Christian, and some people have already given up on the continent. We’ve heard discouraging statistics about mosques replacing churches in England. We know about dismal numbers of churchgoers in Germany and France. Some people assume that the region that gave us the Protestant Reformation is now a spiritual wasteland.

But that’s not what I found in Hungary this past week. On Sunday I preached to a congregation that meets in what used to be a communist hall in the Budapest suburb of Szigetszentmiklos. The Free Christian Church, a lively Pentecostal group pastored by Josef and Lila Gere, was celebrating its 20th anniversary—and the mayor of the town showed up for the service along with the local minister of religious affairs.

“Blind eyes opening … in Europe? Three-hour worship sessions … in Europe? Churches filled with teenagers and young adults … in Europe? It’s all happening in Hungary, a nation that borders seven other European countries—and could affect them all.”

The congregation was full of young people. The praise team led us in Hillsong choruses translated into Hungarian. A few people raised their hands when I invited those who were not Christians to invite Jesus into their hearts.

Commitment Testers

Come to a wedding with me. Flowered archways and candles adorn the church. Music plays softly. Friends and family fill every seat. The wedding party enters. Expectation rises with the music as the bridegroom, and all present, await the arrival of the woman who will join him in marriage.

Down the aisle she comes, a picture of beauty touched with hope, and a just a trace of anxiety. She joins her husband-to-be at the altar, there to make their vows of commitment in the presence of their friends, their family, and God.

With solemn words, the bride and groom make a mutual, lifelong commitment to their marriage and to each other. If they live another fifty years, they will have more than 18,250 days to prove their commitment. 18,250 days! That's a life sentence!

God Thinks You're Wonderful! by Max Lucado

God is fond of you.

If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

If He had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.

He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

Face it, friend. He's crazy about you.

By the way, it may be difficult for you

to believe that God knows your name...

but He does.

Written on His hand.

Spoken by His mouth.

Whispered by His lips.

Your name.

I have written your name on my hand. Isaiah 49:16

You Can Have a Delightful Marriage

Alan and Mary have been married ten years. For most of their marriage, neither of them has felt happy or fulfilled. They seem to be trapped in the grip of a joyless routine. Their marriage isn't exactly bad, but their marriage is flat, like old Coca-Colathat has lost its sparkle. They endure their marriage, like one endures a gloomy room on a rainy day. The sunshine seems gone forever.

It wasn’t always this way. The early years of marriage held many challenges, but they always found ways to keep their marriage enjoyable. Not now. Now they can’t remember the last time they had a good laugh together. By degrees their marriage has become a little more dreary and a little less delightful. They only see each other at the end of a long and busy day. They seldom talk, and seldom smile either. Alan and Mary don’t have a bad marriage, exactly, just a dull one.

In some parts of the American West, and in most of the Australian outback, you can drive for hundreds of miles, on perfectly straight roads, through a featureless landscape. Nothing unexpected, nothing interesting, nothing but you, the car, and the long, long road. After a few hundred kilometers you start craving something, anything, different and exciting. That is precisely how Alan and Mary feel about their relationship.

Worship Team 12 Jun 2011

Chairperson: Caleb R.

Worship Leader: Shankar R
Vocalist: Jocelyn C, Colleen, Meng Fhui

Pianist: Grace Lee
Keyboardist: Prisca Sim
Guitarist: Terry C.
Bassist: Ken Fhui
Drummer: Darren

Projectionist: Joseph Yap

PA Personnel: Hiew FF, Tommy Q.

Sunday Sermon 5-June-2011 - Ps Ang Siew Khim

Speaker: Pastor Ang Siew Khim
River Of Life Sanctuary, Segambut, Kuala Lumpur

http://www.mediafire.com/?56utg7jkv2md46d

Restoring Trust

Marriages can die for many reasons. Usually it is not one thing, but a combination that brings a marriage to the point of death. The bottom line is this: marriages die when promise keepers become promise breakers.

The Power of Promises
Someone has observed that life becomes much more restful if we keep our covenant promises. Marriage is a covenant based on mutual promises of lifelong faithfulness.

As I said in an earlier article, our covenant promises are like a fence we build around our marriage. The fence defines our boundaries, keeps us safe, simplifies our lives, and focuses our affection.

But what if we don’t keep our promises? Then, of course, the relationship becomes shaky.Husband and wife feel like two house painters standing on a plank, supported by wobbly ladders. They experience constant tension and unsteadiness. Even worse, broken promises often lead to the total collapse of a marriage.

Preparing For Marriage: Part 1

For a number of years, I have wanted to write a book on preparation for marriage. I really believe that if we can help couples prepare for marriage, then they can be more successful. Let's face it most people spend far more time preparing for their vocation than preparing for their marriage. Perhaps that's why they are more successful in their vocations than in their marriages.

Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married is my attempt to help couples get ready for marriage. I looked back on my own life and asked, "What do I know now that I wish I had known then?" I think if someone had told me these things, my marriage would have been much easier. I hope you'll learn from my mistakes.

Euphoric Feelings

Would it surprise you if I told you that "being in-love is not an adequate foundation for marriage?" It is highly possible to 'fall in love' with someone you should not marry. Many couples believe that if they are 'in love' then they will always be 'in love'. The reality is that the 'in love euphoria' last for an average of two years.

Devastated by Death : Max on Life #148

The following is a one of 172 questions and answers from the new book, Max on Life.

QUESTION #148:

The seven-year-old son of our neighbors died last week. They are devastated. So are we. What can we tell them?

God is a good God. We must begin here. Though we don’t understand his actions, we can trust his heart.

God does only what is good. But how can death be good? Some mourners don’t ask this question. When the quantity of years has outstripped the quality of years, we don’t ask how death can be good.

But the father of the dead teenager does. The widow of the young soldier does. The parents of a seven-year-old do. How could death be good?

God and Gender: It’s Really Not Confusing

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

A Canadian couple’s decision to raise a “genderless” child has perplexed me.

I was scratching my head last week after hearing about the couple from Toronto, Canada, who announced they were going to raise a “genderless” child. Kathy Witterick and David Stocker, parents of two boys named Jazz and Kio, had a third child named Storm on New Year’s Day. Witterick announced to her family last month that she intends to keep the child’s gender a secret and let him/her figure it out on his own.

So far mom and dad have not granted interviews, but the mother said in a letter to the Edmonton Journal, published May 30, that letting Storm determine his/her gender was “a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation.”

“Gender is determined by the foreknowledge of God; it is not our choice. He is the Creator, we are the creature; He is the potter, we are the clay. To say that a child is going to “choose” his/her gender is the ultimate in rebellion against God’s created order.”

“Someday soon, Storm will have something to say about it,” the mom added. (And I’m thinking he/she also may grow up resenting its parents for this bizarre decision.)

Trust

It amazes me that experts on marriage talk so little about trust. They discuss compatibility, even administer personality profiles to help a couple see how they match up. All fine, and very worthwhile. When I do pre-marriage counseling I often use the same tools

But if the intent of marriage is to build and maintain a uniquely intimate relationship, trust is more important than any other quality. We simply do not develop intimacy with someone we don't trust. Furthermore, the depth of our intimacy will be in direct proportion to the depth of our trust.

Diane and I met in college and married just after graduation. Both of us felt we were making a good choice, but I wanted to know if there was one quality about me (beside my good looks?) that gave Diane the confidence to marry me. So one day I asked her just why she married me.

Mike & Dianne Constantine

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2011 Family Camp - Pastor Mike Constantine

Speaker: Pastor Mike Constantine

28 MAY 2011
Session 1:
http://www.mediafire.com/?838av8kfd9dqdkz

Session 2:
http://www.mediafire.com/?vnc4e9eld3uro0b

29 MAY 2011
Session 3:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ya7hn7qg1543cxi

Session 4:
http://www.mediafire.com/?f5yay4l7k7ybm2c

30 MAY 2011
Session 5:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bfok2p45prb8dr5