Tag Archive - Respect

The Best Advice For Finding True Wisdom: Reverence For God

October 17, 2011 in Soul Food with 2 Comments

wisdom... all of the answers are out there...

Wisdom … knowledge… insight…

wisdom is something that will give me understanding, a sense of direction, or guide me to taking a specific (and positive :) ) action.

I’ve prayed many times for God to lead me in making decisions, asking Him to give me knowledge… basically, for wisdom. He will always answer prayers, although sometimes not exactly in the way and time that we desire. On one occasion I prayed long and hard to God for answers… and He delivered in a powerful way… here’s some of what He gave me:

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds victory in store for the upright,
He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for He guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair – every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.” Proverbs 2:1-11 (NIV)

This verse is loaded with knowledge and understanding… it all goes together… you may selectively take and use just part of it… however, the verse is tied together with LOTS of “ands” so I would encourage you to think of it completely, and in its full meaning.

I prayed for wisdom and He delivered… He gave me more… much much more… it started with this powerful verse, Proverbs Chapter 2.

I trusted in Him, and gave Him Reverence (my love and respect)… and He delivered… in His perfect time and way.

I don’t know where you are with your spiritual journey but I do know this portion of Proverbs Chapter 2 can be applied to just about any situation… with faith… trusting and honoring God.

The Best Advice For Finding True Wisdom: Reverence For God brings true wisdom.

Do you have a favorite Bible verse about Wisdom?

working the right angle

July 11, 2011 in Soul Food with 2 Comments

Jesus had a way of working the right angle.

The story of Jesus’ life is literally weaved together with seemingly endless challenges.

He inspires me because He always…

provided the right answer…

responded with the appropriate approach…

offered a kind word or healing touch.

Sometimes we hear what we want to hear because we’re not really listening. We’re too caught up in working our own angle… instead of the right angle.

If you read Jesus’ story in the Bible you find he often spoke in parables. These parables can be very difficult to understand. In Matthew Chapter 13 Jesus explains why He spoke the way He did…

“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. whoever does not have even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:

Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused, they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”

or…

The seed has to fall on fertile ground in order to grow.

1 John 3:18 says… “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Overcoming our own issues is sometimes the greatest hurdle to living the greatest commandment…

laying down the stones…

working the right angle…

and to passing the greatest test.

I am excited about continuing to learn from Him.

How is He working in your life now to help you work the right angle?

Opposite Sex Friendships In A Changing World

May 27, 2011 in Breathing Deep with 2 Comments

Our world today is changing… at a very rapid speed.

Some of these changes are good and exciting… the age of Social Media and it’s use in advertising, branding and marketing is evolving so rapidly it’s difficult to measure some of the results and see who the experts really are.

Other changes are scary… I heard last night on the news that single parent households have now surpassed those of married couples. Ouch!!

You may be aware that I attend what is considered a fairly progressive church in Jacksonville, Florida… Access Church. We’re a daughter church of Andy Stanley’s North Point Ministeries out of Alpharetta, Georgia. If you don’t know Andy, you may have heard of his father, Charles Stanley… and if you attend church you no doubt have seen some influences of what is considered the evangelical church movement in the world today… these changes my be apparent in your church too. One really cool thing about North Point is how incredibly open they are… they actually WANT to help other churches advance the kingdom of God (that would be “A Win!”). Moreover, for a progressive church, ours is firmly based on Biblical truths and foundation. I especially like that!

As a church on the move (literally, we’re a portable church), we have a lot of volunteers. With that heightened level of activity comes lots of interaction… and the need to establish safe boundaries. I firmly believe marriage is a sacred vow, and one that we should cherish and protect… and while I’m not married at the moment, if you are it’s very important to me to helping preserve the integrity of your marriage.

From a few conversations with leaders at Access (and some thinkin’), I pieced together the following list of guidelines to managing opposite sex friendships:

  • Avoiding being alone with a woman other than my daughters, my mom, and my first wife’s mom (Grammy Ann, who is one of my closest friends). Since I’m currently single and not in a committed relationship, I would add to that list likewise single women.
  • Carefully choosing to associate with like-minded people (particularly those within my closest circle of friends) as these people have the potential not only to influence my decisions… but also to put me in compromising situations.
  • Guarding my interactions on the phone, e-mail, facebook and other social media so that I’m extending the intent of my interactions beyond those involving direct, personal contact.

In doing this I’m consciously not putting myself in situations where I could be tempted to do the wrong thing, and showing the utmost respect for others.

Obviously there may be some work-related situations where this would have to be modified slightly… while at the same time this could be achieved with the same level of respect.

While our world is changing rapidly, these seem to be fairly straightforward and grounded standards to follow.

What would you add to this list?

Top 10 Relational Needs

August 4, 2010 in Soul Food with 0 Comments

Relationships, whether friendships, marriage or within a family, are a give and take.

Last spring our Church group talked about the subject of relational needs, and I recently ran across the material and thought I would share it…

Top 10 Relational Needs:

Acceptance: Deliberate and ready reception with a favorable positive response, even after failure (Romans 15:7)

Affection: To communicate care and closeness through physical touch and words (Romans 16:16)

Appreciation: To communicate with words and feelings a personal gratefulness for another (1 Corinthians 11:2)

Approval: Expressed commendation; to think and speak well of (Romans 14:18)

Attention: To take thought and to convey appropriate interest and support; to enter into another’s “world” (1 Corinthians 12:25)

Comfort (Empathy): To come alongside with word, feeling and touch; to give consolation and tenderness (Romans 12:15)

Encouragement: To urge forward and positively persuade toward a goal (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 10:24)

Respect: To value and regard highly; to convey great worth (Romans 12:10)

Security: Confidence of harmony in relationships; free from harm (Romans 12:16a)

Support: Come alongside and gently help carry a load (Galatians 6:2)

I found it interesting that three of these verses come from Romans Chapter 12. I LOVE this chapter, it’s about how to live out our faith every day.

Can you think of any other needs that are necessary for a relationship to work?

What’s Destroying Your Marriage?

July 29, 2010 in Soul Food with 0 Comments

Communication, lust, finances, lack of trust or respect, pornography, resentment, unforgiveness, friends or family that aren’t for your marriage, temptations, parenting, selfishness, baggage, cowardice, idolatry, affairs, lack of intimacy, abuse, dishonesty, anger, pride…

Wow, that’s quite a list, and there are many more! And if you don’t have any of them in your marriage… Hallelujah!!

I wanted to share with you one of the blogs that I started following recently, called Refine Us. I stumbled across it while trying to keep up with the Lindsey Nobles’ blog, and since I found Refine Us I’m a regular visitor there.

Justin and Trisha Davis write this blog together, and their story is one that is truly amazing. Their prayer is that they can not only help people recover from marriage problems, but actually use their story to help prevent people from experiencing the problems they have experienced. The blog and their ministry is very useful and relevant to our world today.

I really admire Justin and Trisha for their leadership and courage to openly discuss their past and current issues. Thank you both for an inspiring effort!

The 4 Benefits of Being Unplugged

July 10, 2010 in Soul Food with 0 Comments

Falling out of the habit of continually being in touch with anyone and everyone is tough. Over the past several weeks I’ve been unplugged, partially intentionally and not. My way cool original 8GB iPhone has a shaky battery, so I can still use it but it’s off way more than on. It’s almost 3 years old… I guess it’s about time for a new one. This has also distanced me from my e-mail (another possibly good thing). So I usually get into my accounts every couple of hours, instead of every second of every day.

Here are the good things I’ve found from being unplugged:

1. I can focus better on the task at hand. I’m a multi-tasker most of the day so having less distractions has actually been a good thing. This has also been helpful to me to be able to focus on the people in my life without a lot of interruptions, which is more respectful of their presence.

2. I think through my day better, and am more productive.

3. I think though my reactions better. Most of the prompts that come up are not urgent and so I can better choose how best to respond.

4. I’ve been able to eliminate some unwanted or unnecessary distractions.

“Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the King.” 1 Peter 2:17

An Enigma Wrapped up in a Riddle

June 22, 2010 in Soul Food with 0 Comments

Women are the source of great mystery to us guys – they’re a puzzle that’s difficult to solve. And just when you think you’ve got it all figured out everything changes. The original quote is from Winston Churchill.

This idea was fed to me by JR (he likes sending me stuff to write about, and has become very good at it!), and was also inspired by “dhugs” (she has a knack for it too!!).

I’m sure it feels the same way for women who have the challenge of figuring us guys out… it seems we’re just wired differently. I admire married couples that are able to work through challenges and stormy seasons together. It requires a lot of commitment and dedication, as well as teamwork.

Aside from that, here’s what I believe that it’s all about:

If you read Ephesians 5:22-33, it says that husbands should love their wives and wives should submit to their husbands. Love and Respect pretty much says it all. If you can keep that, and center your marriage on God, everything else seems to fall into place. Paul, the writer of Ephesians, relates this relationship to that of Christ and the Church. And if you back up one verse, to 5:21 you’ll find: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. And that to me says Love and Respect needs to go both ways, that both the husband and the wife have a responsibility to provide each of these to one another.

So it’s really not about solving the mystery or puzzle. We may never get there. Love, Respect and God.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?