God Gives Advice Through Other People

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Can You Hear Me Now?

God Gives Advice Through Other People By Rick Warren — Mar 1, 2015 “The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26 NLT) God speaks to you through friends and family, particularly if they are believers. Proverbs 12:26 says,“The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray” (NLT). We all have blind spots. You have things in your life that you’re never going to see that need to be corrected, so God puts people around you to tell you the truth. Everybody needs somebody in their life who loves them enough to tell them the truth. Do you have anybody like that in your life? Do you have godly friends who don’t just tell you what you want to hear but love you enough to level with you and say, “You know what? You’re blowing it right now. You’re making a big mistake. You’re full of pride. You’re going the wrong direction”? None of us see it all clearly. I’ve got about a dozen people in my life who have permission to get in my face and say, “I don’t care if you are the pastor of Saddleback — you’re blowing this. You’re wrong. Have you ever thought about ‘this’?” If you don’t have anybody in your life who loves you enough to do that, you need to find them. You also need to be that kind of person for someone else. Are you a friend like that to anybody? If you just let people get away with it when you see them going in the wrong direction and you don’t say, “What are you doing? Don’t you see what’s wrong with this?” then you have a problem. One of the primary benefits of a small group is feedback and counsel. These should be people who you get to know so well that you can trust them and give them permission to speak into your life and you have permission to speak into theirs. God wants to speak through you and use you to help others grow, but it takes courage. And God wants to speak through other people to you, but it takes humility. Some of you know somebody who is headed down the wrong path. They’re getting involved in an affair or some kind of an addiction. Or they’re walking away from the Lord. You can see it, and you have kept your mouth shut. You’ve used the 21st-century cop-out, “It’s none of my business.” It is your business if you love them. Love cares. Love says, “I love you enough to not let you do this. Don’t blow your life. I care enough about you to risk the relationship.” When you do that, God will speak through you. “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6). Talk It Over Why does it take humility for God to speak to you through other people?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKuuScgnlDE Who in your life can get in your face and tell you when you’re wrong? Why do you trust that person to give you godly advice? If there someone you need to confront with godly truth? What do you think is the best way to do this? Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26     There is one large question that looms over the creation story: Why? Why did God create the material world, and create us in His own image? He had to make a decision to spend six days creating all of this, so what was His reasoning? I think that first and foremost, God created us for His pleasure. It pleases Him to have a relationship with us. It’s not that God was lonely. He has hosts of angels worshiping Him. And He is self-sufficient, so we don’t give Him anything He lacks. But God delights in having a relationship with us. I also believe that God made everything for His praise. The Bible states in many different passages that all of creation praises Him. Every man, woman, and creature praises God either here on earth or eventually in His presence at the gates of heaven. Besides His pleasure and His praise, God also made us for a specific purpose. The Bible says in Romans 8:28-29 that we were created and redeemed so that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. I want you to keep this in mind today as you go about the activities of the day. Remember that the God of the universe desired so much to have a relationship with you that He created you to be like His own Son! Thank God today that you are known and loved by Him. You were created for the pleasure and praise of God; fulfill His purpose.

Let's eat! =)

♥ when God made me... =)

Ang Ulirang Ina =)

Mula sa panulat  ni Meg

Ayon sa aking ina, ang dalawa sa importanteng taglay ng isang ulirang maybahay at asawa ay una: marunong itong magluto at ang ikalawa mahusay sa pananalapi.

Lumaki ako sa isang simple at payak na pamumuhay. Salat sa yaman at nakakaraos lang sa kinikita ng aking ama. Nasa ika anim na antas sa elementarya ang tinapos ng aking ina kaya naman lumaki itong sa paghahanap buhay at namasukan bilang kasambahay. Sa murang edad natuto ang aking ina ng mga gawaing bahay at sa aking paglaki nakagisnan ko ang isang ulirang ina na walang ninais kung hindi ang mapabuti ang kanyang maybahay at kanyang mga anak.

Kasiyahan ng aking ina ang makapaglingkod sa kanyang munting tahanan. Lumaki akong dala ang kanyang ala-ala saan man ako magpunta na kailangan at mahalaga na kumain sa umaga. Malayo man ako sa kanya ngayon batid ko na dahil sa mga nakikita ko, natutunan ko ang kahalagahan ng pagluluto at dapat taglayin ng isang kababaihan, maging ina man ito, anak o asawa. Ang katangiang ito ay isang paghahanda para sa isang mabuting ‘Reyna ng Kusina’ sapagkat dito nakasalalay ang kalusugan at kalakasan ng kanyang asawa sa pang-araw araw nitong gawain sa loob at labas ng kanilang tahanan at maging ang kanilang mga supling.

Dahil sa pagluluto, naibabahagi ng isang ina ang husay nito hindi lamang sa kanyang sarili kung hindi sa kanyang mga mahal sa buhay. Ang katangian na maaaring manahin ng kanyang mga anak. Ang inang marunong sa kusina ay maihahalintulad sa isang duktor na marunong maghain sa kanyang pamilya ng sapat na nutrisyon na kailangan ng kanyang mga anak para lumaki itong malusog at matalino. Ang kalakasan ng ina ay sya ring kalakasan ng kanyang mga anak.

Ang ikalawa, dapat taglayin ng isang mabuting maybahay ang kahalagahan ng pananalapi. Ang kahusayan sa paghawak ng salapi ay maihahalintulad sa tagapag-ingat ng yaman. Gaano man kalaki ang kinikita ng isang ama o asawa kung hindi maingat sa pananalapi ang kanyang maybahay, madali itong mauubos at tuluyang mawawala. Ang kahusayan ng aking ina pagdating sa larangang ito ay patunay na isa syang dakilang ina. Apat kaming magkakapatid subalit nairaos kaming lahat para makapagtapos ng kolehiyo sa kakarampot ng kinikita lamang ng aming ama. Si ina, bilang ingat yaman ay buong puso nitong tinatanggap ang hamon gaano man kababa ang sinasahod ng aking ama. Batid kong hindi sapat at minsan pa nga’y kulang ang sahod ng aking ama subalit wala akong narinig ni daing ng aking ina sapagkat batid ko ang hirap ng buhay noon at ganun din ang hirap ng aking aman sa paghahanap buhay. Sa papaanong paraan kami nakakakaraos, tanging ang aking ina lamang ang nakakaalam. Ang paghawak sa salapi ang isang sining na kailangan ng tamang paghahati-hati ng gastusin.

Hindi ko sukat akalain kung paano kami nakaraos noon. Nangungupahan kami ng maliit na bahay, nag-aaral kaming lahat at wala man lang tumigil kahit isa, ang gastusin sa bahay tulad ng pagkain, elektrisidad at tubig, paano kaya napagbabaha-bahagi iyon ng aking ina. Sya lamang ang nakakaalam.

Sa aking pagninilay nilay nabatid ko na mahalaga itong taglayin at patuloy na pagsikapang matutunan ang katangian ito ng isang kababaihan. Dalawang daan na magiging pag-asa para sa matagumpay na hinaharap ng isang pamilyang punong puno ng pagmamahal, at higit sa lahat pananampalataya kaakibat ang isang masaganang buhay sa hinaharap. =)

Photo of the day =)

Precious Privilege =)

God Reveals Truth Through Biblical Teachers

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Can You Hear Me Now?

God Reveals Truth Through Biblical Teachers By Rick Warren — Feb 28, 2015 “We do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:13 TEV) The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:11-12, “Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, so that his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong” (CEV). How do you know when somebody’s talking if that person has this gift from God to be a teacher? Here’s how you know: Iif, during their teaching, there is a moment you feel like God is speaking directly to you — like you’re the only person in the room and the speaker is focused solely on you. In that moment, God has something to say to you. That’s how you know the gift of teaching is working. We pray for as teachers every week at Saddleback Church. There’s no way in a crowd the size of our congregation we could know the needs of everybody. So we pray, “God, we don’t know who’s going to be here and the things that have happened in their lives this week, but you do. Would you give us the ability to say something to these people that helps to meet a need in their lives?” And God does that. That’s how the gift of teaching works. There is a test that all of us need to put to this particular gift. Romans 12:6 says, “God in his kindness gave each of us different gifts. If your gift is speaking what God has revealed, make sure what you say agrees with the Christian faith” (GWT). If somebody’s got the gift of teaching, it’s going to agree with the Bible. I don’t care how convincing someone is; I don’t care how much emotion you feel from that person’s message. If what is said does not agree with the Bible, then the speaker does not have the gift of teaching. The Bible talks about this in 1 Corinthians 2:13: “We do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit” (TEV). Before I speak, I pray, “Lord, help me remember the things that you want remembered, and help me forget the things that you don’t want said.” I even pray for you: “Lord, help them to remember the things that you want remembered, and help them to forget the stupid things that I might say. Help them hear from you, not me.” The truth is about God speaking to us, not about what some human being is saying. Am I saying that God speaks through human teachers like myself? Absolutely. It amazes me that he does! Why does he speak through us? Because he cares about you, and he loves you, so he will use people who teach the Bible to help you understand his truth. Talk It Over What has God taught you about himself through a teacher or speaker? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M3Mw-F2WbcHow did it help you grow as a Christ follower? Think of a few effective Bible teachers. What are their common character traits? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in hearing and discerning the words of a Bible teacher? Open the Door to Abundance TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap...” (Luke 6:38, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria We serve a God of abundance! He wants to pour out His blessing on you until you are so full that you are running over with His goodness. Notice how this verse starts. It says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” Your giving is what sets the blessing of God into motion in your life. Giving is like a seed. When you plant an apple seed, it doesn’t just grow a single fruit. That one seed grows into a tree that has an abundance of apples. The same thing happens when you obey God in your giving. You get an abundant harvest in return. You are so blessed that you can’t even contain it! You have to just keep giving, and the cycle just keeps repeating itself. Is there something the Lord is telling you to give today? What do you have in your hand that you can use to be a blessing to someone else? Take a step of faith and set the blessing of God into motion. As you do, you’ll open the door for His abundance to flow in every area of your life. A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father in heaven, I receive Your Word into my heart today. Thank You for choosing to bless me so that I can be a blessing to others. Show me ways to bless others and teach me to receive all You have for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.