What do we need?

Many, if not most, of us want what we don't really need.

If we knew what we really needed we probably wouldn't want it :)

Many don't really know what they need, so do we give them what they think they want or what they really need?

Many need depth of relationship with those who are more mature, because life change usually revolves around relationship

They may say they want depth of information (deep Bible study) when what they are really seeking, if they knew how to define it, would be depth of relationship with Christ which requires depth of relationship with other believers.

Rest

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

“and I will give you rest” - what does “rest” mean? Maybe it is the state of appreciating something good like when God rested on the 7th day after creating our world.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” - that sounds like adding a burden to my already overloaded life. What's that all about? In ancient times they yoked a young ox to an old experienced ox so it could learn, just like if we are yoked to Jesus we can learn from the master.

“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” All this still sounds like adding more requirements to my life, not lifting any loads. How does that work? By being yoked to Jesus, He can carry some of the load.

For an excellent, more complete message to watch or listen to, do the following:
Go to http://www.churchatcharlotte.org
Go to Sermons
Go to His Story Our Story (NT)
Click on Rest for the Restless

Good Communication - Rare

Please allow me to share a personal example about communication. Just prior to the last election I had a discussion with a customer. I rarely talk to customers other than fixing the machine and going on. This was a rare exception. Just a day or two before the elections I had a brief discussion and shared my web address with the customer because, at the time, I had a link at the top that had some appropriate information in relation to deciding who to vote for. I did not expect to see this customer for probably months, but it turns out that I had a call to go back the next day after the elections. I had a very good and lively discussion with the customer concerning such things as abortion and gay rights. We were coming from two totally different sides of the fence. When we finished the discussion the customer made a very good point.

She said that the problem with this country is that we do not communicate. I had to totally agree with her.

The good thing is that we had communicated long enough that we understood much better where each other was coming from.
Did we agree? Absolutely not. But, despite disagreeing, we parted as friends.
I wished our families, our church groups and our country did the same thing.
If we have something important that warrants discussion, then hash it out, but don't quit until coming to a better understanding of each other.

Will people agree on everything? No. But at least, maybe, they could hash things out enough to understand better where each other is coming from.

Did I grow up with this modeled? No.

Have I seen it done well in any of my families or groups since then? Rarely, if ever.

But does that mean we should keep going down the same path of non-communication? No.

Will most say everything right? No, maybe rarely, but that cannot be used as an excuse for why real communication is not attempted.

Silence is not golden.
Maybe Practice makes Perfect should be used. If we never practice hashing things out to the bitter end, if need be, we'll never come close to getting it right. If we try we might get it wrong but if we never try we will also never get it right.

Question for Atheist

How can something go wrong when there was no right way for it to be in the first place?
from the book called The Story of Reality

Biblical child discipline

Spanking is not some outdated man made practice or something we should do because it worked for our grandparents. It's a Biblical exhortation.

Proverbs 22:15
A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away.

Proverbs 23:13
Don't fail to discipline your children. They won't die if you spank them.

Proverbs 13:24
Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

Hebrews 12:5-11
And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?
He said,
“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

Real Friends

So, it says in Ecclesiastes that if one falls down their friend can help them up, but pity the one who falls and has no one to help them up.

Some of us might have a friend who would help us up if we were falling. But, how many of us have a friend who would even know if we were falling?

For example, if you were on the verge of committing suicide, do they know you well enough to intercede?

Or do you mostly just talk about the weather or last week's football game or how nice last week's message in church was?

Addiction

It's common for us to think that the solution to an addiction problem is to go to a church or professional counselor and/or join a church recovery group.
If small groups of people were consistently engaged in real genuine transparent connection and interaction, the participants might rarely need special recovery groups or counseling.

Calm in the storm

Not that we will ever even come close to
or could even expect to come very close
but it would be nice to be able to sleep in the middle of life's raging storms
like Jesus did in the boat with His disciples.