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• I Know What Your Problem Is And Here Are Three Ways to Fix It

  In Contented, Happy, Personal Opinion & Commentary, Productive, Self Improvement / 13 September 2009 / 2 comments

  

  I know exactly what your problem is. I don’t even know your name, and I have never met you, but it doesn’t matter. I still know what your problem is. In this post, I’m going to tell you what the problem is, what causes it and how to fix it. Okay, I will admit this won’t apply to everyone, but the overwhelming majority of us suffer with the same problem: unrealistic expectations. Unrealistic expectations are bred into our modern culture. I’ll explain that in a moment, but first I want to talk about the symptoms that expose this problem. Despite the fact that we enjoy the highest level of lifestyle in the world, and have more opportunity than ever before in history, western culture still [...]

   

• The Basic Christian Life: God’s View of Wealth And Status – Part 2

  In Contented, Faithful, Happy, SeriousFaith, Teaching / 10 September 2009 / 0 comments

  (Click here to search for all the posts in this series…) James 1:9-11 – Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. (NKJV) In this day and age when “image is everything” and status is the name of the game, there is hardly a more relevant topic than God’s view of wealth and status. It is the common lifestyle today to live well beyond our means, not only to satisfy impulsive leisure, but [...]

   

• Having a Joy-Filled Life In Troubled Times: The Growth of the Gospel, cont’d – Part 4

  In Contented, Faithful, Happy, SeriousFaith, Teaching / 26 August 2009 / 0 comments

  (Click here to search for all the posts in this series…) Philippians 1:27-30 – Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me. [...]

   

• Having A Joy-filled Life in Troubled Times – Part 1

  In Contented, Faithful, SeriousFaith, Teaching / 26 August 2009 / 0 comments

  (Click here to search for all the posts in this series…) Philippians 1:4 – always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, (NKJV) It would seem from the correspondence that I get, the general feeling across the board is that the world is becoming a more troubled place. Economic times are hard, society is moving farther away from God, it seems overall Christianity is increasingly attacked and open aggression against believers is on the steep rise. Even in good times people desire life filled with joy. When times are harder, that need for joy is even more magnified, and at times allusive. But it doesn’t have to be. Of course “troubled times” is relative. It depends on our perspective and [...]

   

• A Reader Asks: Can women serve as Pastors, Elders or general leaders in the Church?

  In Bible Answers, Contented, SeriousFaith / 26 August 2009 / 0 comments

  Question:Can women serve as Pastors, Elders or general leaders in the Church? Answer:Oh boy, this question always gets me tar-and-feathered because I have many female clergy on my Devotional subscriber list. But the Bible can speak for itself:1 Timothy 2:11-15 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control. (NKJV) These verses speak specifically of the Church authority structure. Does this somehow make a women weaker or [...]

   

• A Reader Asks: I have a question about “God’s best.” Why do a lot of Christians believe it means literally “the best”? …

  In Bible Answers, Contented, Happy, SeriousFaith / 26 August 2009 / 0 comments

  Question:I have a question about “God’s best.” Why do a lot of Christians believe it means literally “the best”? I’ve seen a lot of relationships, that could have turned to be a good marriage, fall apart because one person misunderstands what the term means. I believe understanding contentment has a lot to do with understanding the term also. Answer:“God’s best…” is one of the oft repeated terms that people come to believe is actually in the Bible, like “cleanliness is next to Godliness”.In light of today’s positive confession, prosperity, “Jesus will improve your life” mentality, it is no wonder that “God’s best” has become an excuse to ignore, excuse or discard that which we very subjectively deem as missing the mark.First of all, the only [...]