Warn the Unruly.

The word unruly describes those who break the rules or ignore the rules. It refers to willful disobedience. An unruly person chooses to do wrong, though he knows what is right. Such behavior requires a clear, understandable, enforceable warning, and appropriate consequences if the child ignores the warning.

Parents set boundaries for their children. Though we know that our children could still get hurt living within the boundaries, we know there are hidden dangers, dangers they do not understand, outside the boundaries.

Parents must teach children the very important lesson of obeying the rules and limits we set. For that to happen, the rules must be fair, consistent, and appropriate to the child's age. Fair, because unfair rules lead to resentful children. Consistent, because only consistent rules develop solid character. Possible for the child to obey, because what works with a five-year-old won't work with his twelve-year-old sister.

A few years ago, a frustrated mother wrote to a newspaper advice column for help with her daughter. The little girl, only five years old, made life unbearable for everyone around her. The mother wanted to know if her daughter was old enough to discipline. "Get busy," the columnist answered, "you have wasted the five most important years of your child's life." We don't want to make the same mistake, do we?

More Dinghy than Cruise Ship?

Are you more dinghy. . .than cruise ship? Or in my case, more blue jeans than blue blood? Well congratulations, God changes the world with folks like you!

The next time you say, “I don’t think God could use me!”—stop right there!  Satan’s going to try to tell you that God has an IQ requirement.  That he employs only experts and high-powered personalities.  When you hear Satan whispering that lie—hit him with this:  God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds.  Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store!

But what they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.”

So what do you think?  More plumber than executive?  More stand-in than movie star? Yeah—congratulations!  God uses people like you…and me.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  Matthew 16:24″

From: Max on Life

Serving God in a Dry Season

The year 2013 will be challenging, but it will also be a time to witness God’s supernatural provision.

While Hurricane Sandy’s floods dominated recent weather headlines, a very different weather pattern has cost us more than the superstorm’s $50 billion in damages. The United States actually needs rain—and lots of it.

Forecasters say our nation is experiencing its worst drought since 1954. As of this week, 60.1 percent of the nation is in drought, with six states—Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado and Iowa—entirely in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Lakes are drying up, crops are dying and ranchers are scrambling to feed their cows.

"How can we experience provision during a recession? It is possible because God’s economy is not linked to this world’s corrupt system. Just as the widow’s oil flowed even when her bank account was dry, you too can know supernatural blessing even when the nation is dangling over a fiscal cliff"

Some people figure this prolonged dry spell is just the result of cyclical climate patterns. Maybe so, but the Bible suggests that droughts and famines can be linked to spiritual realities. Sometimes the natural world reflects our spiritual condition. Man’s pride, greed, injustice and idolatry can actually disturb nature.

The Forgiveness of Christ

The dilemma was:  “I know the Bible says I’m forgiven.  But my conscience says I’m not!”

If this question hits home… If you haven’t accepted God’s forgiveness, you’re doomed to live in fear.  And no pill or pep talk can set you at ease.  Am I right?  You may deaden the fear, but you can’t remove it.  Only God’s grace can do that!

Have you accepted the forgiveness of Christ?  If not, do it!  The Bible says “if we confess our sins, God is faithful–not just to forgive us, but He cleanses us from all unrighteousness! I John 1:9″

Make it your simple prayer:  Dear Father, I need forgiveness.  I admit I’ve turned away from you.  Forgive me, please.  I place my soul in Your hands and I trust in your grace.  Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now!  Live forgiven!

From: Max on Life

He Makes a Difference

We get what sin is.  But, what we struggle with is how to make up for it? 

To put it simply—we’re not good enough!  If I lose my temper in traffic, can I make up for it by waving at the next four cars?  If I’m greedy one year, how many years should I be generous?

The truth is, I don’t know the answer to those questions. There’s no price list.  No rule sheet.   Is God some kind  of heavenly deal broker who sells packages of grace?  Is that the kind of God we have?  Is that the kind God we want?  Actually, God’s standard is much higher.

Romans 3:23 says, we fall short of the glory of God.  Way short!  We’re not good enough—but He is!  It’s Christ in us that makes the difference!

From: Max on Life

Who is God?

So who is God?  Can I trust Him to take care of me?  How much time do you have?

The weather changes—but God is UN-changing!   Fashion changes.  Even change changes. But Hebrews 6:17 says, God is always the same—yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

So can we trust God?  Is He powerful enough?  You and I are limited—I think that goes without saying!   One sneeze in my direction, and I’m contaminated, sick with a cold and out for a week.  No one can soil or stain God.  No sin contaminates Him.

We’re limited by brain capacity, time, relationship overload, and responsibilities—you can only be at one soccer game at a time after all!  And patience!  But God?  He has no limit to his time, power, knowledge and love.

Check it out for yourself in Psalms 147:4-5

He counts the stars
and names each one.
Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.

So—can God take care of you?   I’ll let you answer that!

From: Max on Life

A New Version

Some of us are so disappointed in what we see as love— even to the point we can’t imagine God’s love.

The problem is—human love is convenient.  It’s limited.  It’s hormones—it’s emotional.  Like eating the wrong thing before you go to bed.  It felt good at first—but now?  Not so much!

God’s love is eternal—unlimited.  It is commitment. God has feelings for us, but his feelings don’t dictate his love.  God’s love is based on his decision!  His love is deeper and more secure than anything you’ve ever experienced in your life.

So what do we do to make our love a better version?  How about if we express God’s love in our human relationships? How about we become that “someone” in the life of another who can look back and say, “I saw God’s love in them!”

“This is what real love is: It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us. He sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins.  Dear friends, if God loved us that much we also should love each other. No one has ever seen God, but if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is made perfect in us.  I John 4:9-12″

From: Max on Life

I Tried More than Once!

Mark addresses the common complaint he hears that someone has already tried asking their spouse more than once and it doesn't work.

This is bonus content from Mark Gungor's Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminar, to purchase the complete seminar please visit http://shopping.laughyourway.com/

Sunday Sermon - 25-Nov-2012 - Pr. Sandeep Daniel

Speaker: Pastor Sandeep Daniel

http://www.mediafire.com/?40d1f8z3q027jlo

He’s the Real Deal

God’s not a love-‘em-and-leave-‘em kind of God!  When I was 7, I ran away from home.  I’d had it with my dad and his rules. With my clothes in a paper bag, I headed out. What do I need a father for?  Well, I didn’t go far.  When it  came down to it, hunger won me over!

Did my dad know what I’d done—what I thought?  I suspect he did—dads always seem to, don’t they?  But you know—my dad called himself my father even when I didn’t call myself his son.  His commitment to me was greater than my commitment to him.

You can count on God to be in your corner—no matter what–He cares!

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7″

From: Max On Life

Thanksgiving—The Remedy for a Rotten Attitude

My experience with Third-World poverty last week reminded me that we are so much more blessed than we realize.

Whenever I stare Third-World poverty in the face I receive a painful attitude adjustment. This happened to me last week when I visited a refuge for disaster victims in the small community of Manatí, Colombia. Approximately 1,500 people—all of whom lost their homes during floods two years ago—now live in crude storage units equipped with running water and makeshift latrines.

I stuck my head in one of the apartment doors just to see the conditions. A single mother lived in one room with her eight children. Some pigs and dogs, looking uncomfortable in the South American humidity, sought shade near a window nearby. Most kids in the camp played with old jars, plastic bins and sticks, but I noticed one dirty-faced girl with a used doll. She had created a home for her Barbie in the dirt outside her front door.

“Thanksgiving has the power to adjust our selfish hearts and recalibrate our whiny attitudes. When we thank the Lord, we subdue the pride in our hearts and crush our craving for entitlement.”

The people of Manatí know nothing about hot water, air conditioning or flush toilets. They certainly don’t have smartphones, flat-screen televisions, washing machines or Internet access. They’ve never heard of digital books, granite countertops, spa treatments, GPS devices, Jacuzzis, gourmet kitchens or Netflix. They can’t imagine paying $4 for a cup of coffee or $10 for a movie ticket. Being able to own a car is unthinkable.

Joys of the Feast

The Thanksgiving meal is over.  My legs are propped up on the hearth.  I have every intention of dozing off very soon.  The turkey’s been attacked.   The giblet gravy has been gobbled.  The table is clear.  The kids are napping.  And the family’s content.  Yesterday’s challenges in the trip getting here were lost in today’s joy.

That’s what Paul meant in 2nd Corinthians when he talked of our light and momentary troubles.  God never said the journey would be easy, but He did say the arrival would be worthwhile.  Remember this:  God may not do what you want, but He will do what is right—and best.  He is the Father of forward motion.

Trust Him. He will get you home.  And the trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the feast.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m a bit tired from the journey and it feels good to rest.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17”

From: In the Eye of the Storm

Worship

We hear a lot about “worship”—but what is it exactly?  Worship is when you’re aware that what you’ve been given is far greater than what you can give.  Worship is the awareness that were it not for God’s touch, you’d still be hobbling and hurting, bitter and broken. Worship is the “thank you” that refuses to be silenced.

Oh we’ve tried to make a science out of worship.  We can’t do that any more than we can “sell love” or negotiate peace.”  Worship is a voluntary act of gratitude offered by the saved to the Savior, by the healed to the Healer, and by the delivered to the Deliverer.

If you and I can go days without feeling an urge to say “thank you” to the One who saved, healed, and delivered us, then we’d do well to remember what He did!

“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  2 Corinthians 4:15”

From: In the Eye of the Storm

Stay Close to the Vine

God says to you and me, “You can be fruitful, but I’m going to have to clip some diseased leaves.”   Arrogance.  Vain ambitions. Bad relationships.  Dangerous opportunities.  Revenge.  Does God take this process lightly?  I don’t think so.  John 15:2 says, “He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit.”

So what are we to do?  We branches on the vine– what is our response?  An answer commonly given at this point is the imperative, “Bear fruit!”  But is that the right response?  If a branch is fruitless does it help if the gardener demands fruit?  Please note, the branch cannot make fruit.

Jesus says, “remain in me. . .”   Remain in my love. . .  If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce fruit.  Our task?  It’s clear.  Stay close to the vine.  Jesus said, “apart from Me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5

From: A Gentle Thunder

How Can I Change My Husband?

Mark addresses the common question from wives of "How can I get my husband to be like everybody else's husbands who are so nice, kind, and considerate?"

Sunday Sermon - 18-Nov-2012 - Dr Lay Kee Neu

Speaker: Dr. Lay Kee Neu

http://www.mediafire.com/?vge68it3rjr38jf

Sharing My Money

Our Mentality
Remember when we were kids and our parents told us to share? Why was that so hard? Well if we thought it was hard to share our toys it's even harder to share our money. When you get married it's time for a change in the mentality of, "Mine!"

When you get married, it is no longer, "your money" and "my money," but rather "our money." Likewise, it is no longer "my debts" and "your debts," but rather "our debts." When you accept each other as a partner, you accept each other's liabilities as well as each other's assets.

Full Disclosure
A full disclosure of assets and liabilities should be made before marriage. It's not wrong to enter marriage with debts, but you ought to know what those debts are and agree on a plan for repayment.

Marriage is two becoming one. Applied to finances, this means that all our resources belong to both of us. One of us may be responsible for paying the bills and balancing the checkbook, but this should never be used as an excuse for hiding financial matters. Full and open discussions should precede any financial decision. Marriage is enhanced by agreement in financial matters.

Whose Money is It?
If you're the "bread-winner" of the family how do you maintain humility and remember that it's not YOUR money? If you have a lot of debt in your name, do you ever feel blamed by your spouse for that? We can lift one another up if we remember that all we have belongs to the Lord anyway.

Continue the conversation: Share your questions, thoughts insights, or comments by joining the conversation on Facebook at facebook.com/5lovelanguages 

Crazy Idea?

My family consisted of me, two sisters and a brother.  We were siblings because we came from the same family.  I’m sure there have been times when they did not want to call me their brother, but they didn’t have that choice.  Nor do we.  When I see someone calling God Father and Jesus Savior,  I meet a brother or a sister—regardless of the name of their church or denomination.

What would happen—I know this is a crazy thought—but what would happen if all the churches agreed, on a given day, to change their names to simply “church?”   What if reference to any denomination were removed and we were all just Christians?  Then we Christians wouldn’t be known for what divides us; instead we’d be known for what unites us—our common Father.

Crazy idea?  Perhaps.  But I think God would like it.  It was his to begin with.

“Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God.” (Rom. 15:7)

From: A Gentle Thunder

Why We Must Confront the Global Abuse of Women

The church cannot be silent while the world addresses the worst social injustice of our times.

Several months ago a street vendor named Rosa Elvira Cely placed a desperate call to Colombia’s national emergency number on her cellphone. “I’m in the national park,” she said. “They are raping me! They are raping me!”

Police in Bogotá couldn’t respond fast enough. When they found Rosa she was unconscious and barely breathing. She had stab wounds in her back, she had been raped and beaten, and a jagged piece of wood had been shoved into her vagina. Official reports said the 35-year-old single mother, who had been studying to finish high school, had been impaled.

“Jesus ministered in a male-dominant culture in which women were marginalized, demoralized, abused, denied rights, and judged as guilty before they could be proven innocent. Yet He defended women from their accusers, healed them, empowered them, invited them to become His disciples, and allowed them to be the first to announce the good news of His resurrection.”

She died on May 28, and 1,000 Colombians gathered in the park where she was attacked to decry the horrific violence against women that has become a national trend. They carried signs that said, “NI UNA MAS!” (“Not one more!”).

Call it Grace

You’ve done some nice things in your life.  But you have not done enough good works to go to heaven regardless of your sacrifice.  Nor do you have enough character to go to heaven.  Please don’t be offended.  Then, again, be offended, if necessary.  You’re probably a very decent person.  But decency isn’t enough.  You may pay taxes and kiss your kids and sleep with a clean conscience.

Hebrews 12:14 says, “Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord.”

Apart from Christ you are not holy.  So how can you go to heaven?  Only believe.  Accept the work already done, the work of Jesus on the cross.  Accept the goodness of Jesus Christ.  Abandon your own works and accept his. It would have bankrupted you or me, the price was so extravagant.

Call it a gift.  But don’t call it easy.  Call it what it is.  Call it grace.

From:  A Gentle Thunder

We Are Needed

Two of my teenage years were spent carrying a tuba in my high school marching band.  Not necessarily what you’d describe as a call from God, but it wasn’t a wasted experience either.  I learned some facts about harmony that I’ll pass on to you.

Would you attend a concert of a hundred tubas?  Probably not.  But what band would be a band without a tuba?  Or a flute?  Or a trumpet?  Or a steady drum?  Get the idea?  The operative word is need.  They need each other.  By themselves they make music.  But together, they make magic.

What I saw decades ago in the marching band, I see today in the church.  We need each other.  Not all of us play the same instrument.  Not all of us make the same sound.  Some are soft, and others are loud. Some convert the lost.  Others encourage the saved.  And some keep the movement in step.  All are needed!

“ For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. Corinthians 12:12”

From: A Gentle Thunder

Tim Hawkins-Hand Raising and Sanitizer

Just Believe

Suppose you give me a gift.  Let’s say you present me with a new tie.  I take it out of the box, examine it and say thank you, and then reach for my wallet.  “Now, how much do I owe you?” I ask.  You think I’m kidding.

“It’s a gift,” you say.  “You don’t need to pay me.”

“I understand,” I respond, but then show I don’t by asking, “Could I write you a check?”

In trying to buy your gift, I’ve degraded your grace.  I’ve robbed you of the joy of giving.  How often we rob God.  Have you considered what an insult it is to God when we try to pay him for his goodness?  Sly is the scheme of Satan.  He causes us to question grace, to earn it.  What is it God wants us to do?  Just believe.  Believe the One he sent.  And receive the gift he gives.

“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. John 6:29”

From: A Gentle Thunder

He Delights in You

It was a tense deacon’s meeting. Apparently there was more agitation than agreement, and after a lengthy discussion, someone suggested, “Why don’t we pray about it?”—to which another questioned: “Has it come to that?”

What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first?  I can think of two reasons: feelings of independence and feelings of insignificance. We think, God doesn’t want to hear my problems. He’s got famine and the Mafia to deal with. I don’t want to trouble him with my mess.

The last thing you should worry about is being a nuisance to God.  If that’s your thought, may I share with you a favorite verse of mine?

“Because He delights in me, He saved me. Psalm 18:19 ”

God can live anywhere in the universe and he chooses to live in your heart.  He’s crazy about you!  Why don’t you talk to him?

From: A Gentle Thunder

Expectations for Marriage

Mark Gungor answers your questions!

This video covers if it's okay to have expectations for marriage. Nobody goes to the altar hoping they'll have an average life, or that they'll fail. Expectations are normal.

Watch the video for more of Mark's insights on this topic. This is bonus content from Mark Gungor's Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminar, to purchase the complete seminar please visit http://shopping.laughyourway.com/

Sunday Sermon - 11-Nov-2012 - Pr. Sandy Haverfield

Speaker: Pastor Sandy Haverfield

http://www.mediafire.com/?bj7wsg111gb55cn

Negative Emotions: Gift From God?

Listening to Your Emotions
Why do we consider our emotions as an enemy? One reason is that we know our feelings change. The lift us up and they let us down. Our highs don't last, and our lows are painful. We conclude, therefore, that emotions are unreliable. Perhaps the chief reason is that negative emotions don't seem to fit with our idea of being a "good Christian." 

Anger, fear, disappointment, loneliness, frustration, depression, and sorrow don't fit the stereotype of successful Christian living. The fact is negative and positive emotions are morally neutral. It is what we do in response to our emotions that leads to good or bad. Negative emotions call for positive action. Positive emotions call us to celebrate. Take time to listen to your emotions. 

Jesus Had Emotions
Have you ever done a Bible study on emotions? When I wrote The Marriage You've Always Wanted Bible Study, I felt it important to include a chapter on "Becoming Friends with My Feelings" because I think many Christians have a distorted view of emotions. Many people are surprised to discover that Jesus felt depression. Read it for yourself in Matthew 26:36-46. 

We have wrongly concluded that negative emotions are from Satan. The Scriptures teach that emotions are a gift from God. They motivate us to take constructive action. Anger motivated Jesus to clear the temple of robbers and thieves. Emotions call us to engage the mind and to make wise decisions on what needs to be done. When we make wise decisions, emotions have served their purpose.

Please Pause for This Post-Election Prayer

After this bitterly divisive election, the Lord’s Prayer can reunite us. Please pray it often.

Election 2012 was a bitter contest. As of Wednesday night—when my home state of Florida was still counting ballots—President Obama had 59.6 million votes compared to Mitt Romney’s 56.9 million. Democrats still control the Senate and Republicans still control the House. The political gridlock of the past four years is here to stay.

We are a very, very divided nation. We are split on so many levels—young vs. old, urban vs. rural, white vs. black and white vs. Hispanic. Pollsters say Obama received fewer votes from white males than any president in recent elections. News analysts already are using terms like “the 50-50 nation” to describe our polarized condition.

"On the night of the election, as I pondered the depth of our national crisis, my heart was drawn to the profound authority of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to meditate on these words because they have the power to recalibrate our hearts and to refocus our priorities."

What is sad, to me, is that these divisions have fractured the church. I know of congregations where large numbers of African-Americans walked out because pastors urged their members to vote for Romney. Some Christians saw Romney as the only biblical values choice, while others couldn’t stomach the notion of a Mormon in the White House. Other Christians pushed for Obama because they believe his health care policies reflect Christian values.

A New Birth

God is often more patient with us than we are with ourselves.  We assume if we fall, we aren’t born again.  If we have the old desires, we must not be a new creation.

If you’re anxious please remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.”

In many ways your new birth is like your first.  In your new birth God provides what you need; someone else feels the pain, and someone else does the work.  And just as parents are patient with their newborn, so God is patient with you. But there’s one difference. The first time you had no choice about being born. This time you do.

The power is God’s. The effort is God’s. The pain is God’s. But the choice is yours.

From A Gentle Thunder

A New Heart

Society says change the outside and the inside will follow.  Give a person education, the right habits, the right disciplines, and the person will be changed.

Oh, we try.  Boy, do we try.  We buy clothes.  We seek degrees, awards, achievements.  But peel away the layers, and underneath you see our true nature:  a selfish, prideful, sinful heart.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God’s kingdom. John 3:3″

At our “new birth” God remakes our souls and gives us what we need.  New eyes so we can see by faith. A new mind so we can have the mind of Christ. A new vision so we won’t lose heart. A new voice for praise and new hands for service.  And most of all, a new heart!

From: A Gentle Thunder

Christians On Message

It’s a political term to be sure. And haven’t we heard it ad nauseum over the last 18 months? Republicans attempting to stay “on message.” Democrats resolving to swing the party back “on message.” The phrase carries the idea of the central theme, the big points, the idea we exist to promote.

Avoid rabbit trails. Anchor to core values. Relentlessly promote unique ideas. Stay on message.

This morning–post-election morning–I’m wondering how we Christians are doing when it comes to staying on message? That question begs a prior one. What is our message? To ask the pundit on the internet, the Christian message is “pro-life, traditional marriage; more red than blue, more conservative than liberal.”

But is this our core message? Paddle upstream to the earliest framers of the Christian message. The story the first disciples were dying to tell was this: the grace of Jesus Christ.

“Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace….you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God…. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.” (Ephesians 2:5-10 NCV)

Behold the fruit of grace: raised by God, saved by God, seated with God. Gifted, equipped and commissioned. Grace is the word God uses to describe his radical commitment to redeem and restore to himself a people with whom he will reign forever. Grace changes everything! We are spiritually alive. Heavenly positioned. Connected to God. A billboard of mercy. An honored child. This is the “aggressive forgiveness called grace” (Rom. 5:20 MSG).

His Grace

I had planned to nap during my trip.  But the fellow next to me had other ideas!  Knowing I couldn’t sleep, I opened my Bible.

“What ya’ studying there, buddy?”  I told him, but he never heard.

“The church is lost,” he declared.  “Hellbound and heartsick.”   “Christians are asleep.  They don’t pray. They don’t  love. They don’t care.”  With that he began listing all the woes and weaknesses of the church.

I shouldn’t have let it bug me, but it did.  God’s faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of his children.  He is faithful even when we are not.  When we lack courage, he doesn’t.

I’ll probably never see that proclaimer of pessimism again, but if you do, will you give him a message for me?  God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith.

That’s what makes God…God!   And that is what makes the church strong.

From: A Gentle Thunder

The Power of Election Prayer

Let others lose sleep over the election.  Let others grow bitter from party or petty rivalries.  Let others cast their hope with the people of the elephant or the donkey.  Not followers of Jesus.  We place our trust in the work of God.

How many kings has he seen come and go?  How many nations has he seen stand and fall?  He is above them all.  And he oversees them all.  So, while others get anxious, we don’t. Here is what we do:  we pray.

“First of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  (1 Tim.2:1-4 NIV).

It is time to take this job seriously.  Over the next hours and days ahead, turn your heart toward heaven and ask God to:

• Unite our country
• Strengthen us
• Appoint and anoint our next president

God’s promise is clear:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  (2 Chron. 7:14 NIV).

Only God can unite the nations. On this election day, let’s ask him to do just that with ours.

We Like Sheep

Sheep aren’t smart. They tend to wander into running creeks for water, then their wool grows heavy and they drown. They have no sense of direction. They need a shepherd to lead them to calm water.

So do we! We, like sheep, tend to be swept away by waters we should have avoided. We have no defense against the evil lion who prowls about seeking whom he might devour.

Isaiah 53:6 reminds us, “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way.”  We need a shepherd to care for us and to guide us. And Jesus is that Good Shepherd. The Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. The Shepherd who protects, provides, and possesses his sheep. The Psalmist says: The Lord is my shepherd!  The imagery is carried over to the New Testament as Jesus is called the good shepherd of the sheep!

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15”

From A Gentle Thunder

You Need to Take from a Man

Mark Gungor answers your questions!

Women are givers, men are takers. If a woman wants something from a man, she needs to take it, not expect him to give it to her without prompting. Women often think that "if he really loved me, I wouldn't have to ask," an idealistic concept that doesn't hold up.

This is bonus content from Mark Gungor's Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminar, to purchase the complete seminar please visit http://shopping.laughyourway.com/

Sunday Sermon - 4-Nov-2012 - Pr. Dorai Manikam

Speaker: Elder Pastor Dorai Manikam
Full Gospel Assembly Kuala Lumpur

http://www.mediafire.com/?4w8mre2llwwxwrd

A Hero in the Bible

Behold a hero of the west.  A thousand head of cattle pass behind him. He needs no one.  He’s a cowboy.  The American hero.

Behold a hero in the Bible:  the shepherd.  He too is rugged.  Like the cowboy he makes his roof the stars and the pasture his home.

But that’s where the similarities end. The shepherd loves his sheep.  The cowboy leads the cow to slaughter.  The cowboy drives the cattle.  The shepherd leads the sheep. The shepherd calls each sheep by name.  Aren’t we glad Christ didn’t call Himself the Good Cowboy?

Psalm 100:3 says,  “Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

We don’t need a cowboy to herd us.  We need a shepherd.  A shepherd to care for us and to guide us.  And we have One.  One who knows us by name.

From A Gentle Thunder

Where is God in this Storm?

*Like many of you, I have spent the last few hours with an eye on the television screen. The devastation is stunning. Many questions are circling. “How long will this last?” “How extensive is the damage?” “Will the storm have an impact on the Presidential election?”

There is a more fundamental question that is surfacing; not on the newscasts, but in the hearts of victims and viewers. “Where is God in this storm?”

The disciples of Jesus asked an identical question. “Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side….He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now, when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.” (Mt. 14:22-24)

What we have seen off America’s eastern coast, the disciples saw on the Galilean Sea. Tall, angry waves. Their fishing boat bounced and spun on the white-tops. The sky rumbled above them, the water churned beneath them. And I wonder if they asked, “Where is Jesus? He told us to get into the boat. Now we are alone in the storm? Where is he?”

The answer? Praying. “He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.” Jesus made intercession His priority. Did He know about the storm? Could He feel the winds? And see the thunder? No doubt. When He sensed the danger, He chose to pray.

5 "Aha" Marriage Tips You Need to Know: Part 5

#5 - Admitting my own imperfections does not mean that I am a failure.

Most troubled marriages include a stone wall between husband and wife, built over the years. Each stone represents an event in the past where one of them has failed the other. These are things about which people talk when they sit in the counseling office.

The husband complains, "She has always been critical of everything I do.  I've never been able to please her." The wife complains, "He's married to his job. He has no time for me or the children. I feel like a widow." This wall of hurt and disappointment stands as a barrier to marital unity.

Demolishing this emotional wall is essential for rebuilding a troubled marriage. Admitting your part in building this wall, does not make you a failure. It means that you are human and are willing to admit your humanity. Confessing past failures is the first step toward a growing marriage.
 

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 

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Why So Few?

I’ve often thought it curious how few people Jesus raised from the dead. He healed hundreds, fed thousands, but as far as we know He only raised three: the daughter of Jairus, the boy near Nain, and Lazarus. Why so few?

Could it be because He knew He’d be doing them no favors?
Could it be because He couldn’t get any volunteers?
Could it be that once someone is there, the last place they want to return to is here?

Isaiah said: The good men perish; the godly die before their time and no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to realize that God is taking them away from the evil days ahead. For the godly who die will rest in peace.
Isaiah 57:1

What a thought. Could death be God’s grace? God’s protection from the future? Trust in God, Jesus urges, and trust in Me!

From A Gentle Thunder

From Dead Religion to a Revitalized Church

God wants to breathe new life into struggling congregations.

When I met Jason Cook three years ago he was a discouraged Bible college graduate. He had experienced failure in his personal life, and he had disappointed the leaders he served. Even though he still had a strong desire to be in ministry, the 27-year-old paid his bills by waiting tables at a seafood restaurant in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Jason could have dropped off the spiritual map like so many people his age who have abandoned faith or given up on the church. But a miracle of grace unfolded.

“We are entering a season of revitalization. Don’t miss this moment. Churches can experience new life and new growth if we are willing to uncork the new wine of change.”

Jason shook free from his discouragement, and he was eventually invited to pastor a struggling Pentecostal Holiness church in Conway, about 15 miles from Myrtle Beach. The congregation had shrunk to 35. A few older members of the church resisted when Jason tried to introduce new music and an innovative ministry style—but then new people began to show up, and people in the community began to find Jesus through Jason’s passionate preaching and the church’s outreach.

The church has now grown to 170 in a year.

The Holy Spirit

If I were to ask you to describe your heavenly Father, you’d give me a response.  If I were to ask you to tell me what Jesus did for you, you’d likely give a cogent answer.  But if I were to ask about the role of the Holy Spirit in your life. . .?  Eyes would duck.  Throats would be cleared.

John 14:17 says, “The world cannot accept him, because it does not see him or know him.  But you know him, because he lives with you and he will be in you.”

What does the Spirit do? Scripture says He comforts the saved.  He convicts the lost.  He conveys the truth.  Have you ever been convicted? Ever sensed a stab of sorrow for your actions? Understood a new truth?  Then you’ve been touched by the Holy Spirit.

What do you know?  He’s been working in your life already.

From A Gentle Thunder