What level are you on?

Relationships are a funny thing...

When was about 15, maybe a bit younger, I was in the laundromat and I over heard this couple talking about relationships... The woman said relationships have three levels. This has always stuck with me because it applies not only to intimate relationships but to our everyday relationships.

When we think about relationships, we don't always think about how they affect us in the long run. We meet people, people meet us.... That's how life happens... But with every person we meet and choose to have a relationship with, there are three levels it can fit into.

Level 1: Everything stays the same. In this level no one grows. Everything is left exactly as it was when you first met. Nothing happens. It's just their. The person who we are in this type of relationship with, can come and go and we would never know it because they didn't have an impact on our life, which is hard to do because everyone in some way affects our life.

Level 2: One person stays on the same level, and the other person doesn't. This level is a bit rough because in this level anything can happen. We see this level in a lot of relationships though. One person grows while the other person stays where they are or one person moves backward in their growth while the other person keeps going. This happens because when one person grows they don't include them in the process. It even happens when they grow backwards. When a person is going through a rough patch they don't always included anyone else in it until it's two late.

Level 3: Both people grow. This is the ideal relationship. This means that both people are moving in one accord. This is a tough one to do because it would have meant that both people were on the same accord at the start of the relationship. Both people have to have the same foundation in order to build upon it so that no one's house is collapsing. So this means getting to know you and your partner before even jumping into a relationship. Same thing at work, why get into a conversation or develop a relationship with a co-worker who doesn't share your beliefs? You don't have to agree on everything, but the important things you should definitely agree on....

My challenge to you today is to evaluate your relationships. Are you a level 1, 2 or 3...... If it's not a level 3, examine why it's like that, and is it worth fixing.....

Praise him.

This one is a bit personal, but someone, not sure who, is going to benefit from this....

Sometimes we feel like a piece of us is missing. Sometimes, it's the best part of us. Sometimes, it's the part of us that reminds us that the world is a good place. Sometimes it's the thing that reminds us to always reach higher. Reach higher than just what it seems like we are reaching for.

When that piece is missing, we have a tendency to go inside ourselves. Ourselves during grief can be a dark place, and if we let it engulf us, it can take us into a really dark place. At this time, when it happens, we can retreat. Actually we need to retreat because we need time to handle our grief. In our retreat though, we are not to be alone. We are to take our bible with us, our praise and worship music, and just praise God. Praise him for everything that we are doing now. Praise him for everything that is going on in our life. Praise him for the good times, and praise him for being able to go through the grief that we are going through because it helps keep us humble, it helps to show us our mortality, it helps to keep us in the palm of his hands... For it is when we are at our lowest that he can show who he is in our life, and through us...

Wow! It's been a while... 2 1/2 years... In that time a lot has happened... My world has been turned upside down, flipped around, and just altered.... But through it all, I haven't lost sight of the most important thing. That I walk with a good God, a great God, and an awesome God....

I'm back to writing, and hopefully we'll keep this updated on a regular basis. So let's continue this walk together. Time to start walking.

We wonder sometimes why it is that when things are going on around us we are spared from it. Have you ever been in a situation where you know you should not have walked away from it, yet you did. You might have been bruised a little bit, but that bruise didn't kill you. There are many situations that have happened like that. I want to talk about a man named Moses.

Moses when he was born, was sentenced to death. At the time of his birth, a decree had gone out from Pharaoh to have all of the male Hebrew babies killed because the Hebrew slaves talked of a deliverer, for they were in bondage. Moses could have died, he could have been killed, but he was placed in a basket. The basket was placed in the river, and Pharaoh's daughter found him. He was bruised a bit, because he grew up not knowing who his family was or where he came from, but he was spared. As the rest of the story goes, he freed the Hebrews from Pharaoh's son, they wandered the dessert, and their children got to enter the promise land. Why their children.... That's a topic for another day.....

We are spared for a reason. It's always a reason... It's our goal to find out what that reason is, and as we find out what that reason is, we find out who we are. In finding out who we are we get closer to God. Until it hits a point where we are relying on him for everything... Who else but God answers when we call, is always there for us? He may not show up when we want him, but he is always there when you need him....

SO why have you been spared?

How we walk....

I was praying this morning, and with God's help came to the conclusion that Christians don't always walk the way they are supposed to. Let me explain, in my favorite version of footprints, it ends with Jesus dancing with the person in the story. It makes me wonder because I always thought that in order to dance you have to first walk. So how can we dance with Jesus if we don't walk with him? The other thing, have you ever seen dancers? They walk with this confidence amd with a gracefulness that makes people look twice. As Christians, we should have that walk. We should have ourselves so deep in Christ, that we know at the end of it all, we are God's children. We should be able to dance with the Lord at all times, even if its just a simple two step. That however only comes after we are so sure in our Walk with him that we feel comfortable enough to step out and be silly for a bit. I don't know about you but I want to dance....

Here's how you become more sure in your walk. You practice. Practice going to God with the little things, so it'll be easy when we need to go to him for the big things. Practice spending more time in study and reflection of the word.... Make it as much of an habit as getting dressed everyday, or even feeding ourselves when we are hungry. Remember Christ told us that man cannot live on bread alone. So if Christ had to say it, what makes you think that we in present day can survive without his word.... Also we have to surround ourselves with people who will help us spiritually, mentally and physically.......... This is how we walk.

Faith

Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Paul knew first hand about faith. Being knocked off his horse, blinded, and then told he had to meet this man of a way he had been persecuting so that he can get his sight back. Yeah, this is a true test of faith....

Paul had to go through that inorder for him to even begin to follow out Jesus' teachings. He was a Jew, born and raised, he didn't believe that Jesus is the Messiah and he was willing to take out anybody who believed he was. God already had his path marked out. Paul had a bullseye on his back. Now God had to put him in a position to completely rely on him in order for Paul to walk out God's plan.

Now Faith is the confidence or trust in a person or thing. How do we gain this confidence? We gain it by reading God's word and seeing how he operated in all of the lives of the biblical people. We gain it by constantly praying and worshipping God. We gain it by taking the time out to be filled with his Spirit so that it can teach us how to have absolute faith.
Have you ever seen a little child? They think their parents can do anything! We should be like that with God. He is our father and just because we may not be able to see anything that he does, he is doing it all. Who woke you up this morning? Who started you on your way? The father that we cannot see.

In conclusion faith is us relying on God to do what he does, cause best believe when we let God do what he does, he going to make it do what it do.

Gifts

Have you ever wondered why it is that you could do something with greater ease than someone else? Have you ever wondered why as long as you were using your gift for good it was always there, but the minute your intentions became anything but pure, you were stumbling and was no longer good at what you were doing? That's because the thing that you are good at is your gift from God. Whats good about having gifts is that he gave them to us freely, however we do have to use them to help advance his kingdom. Have you ever seen someone who has the gift of talking? They can talk for hours! They can talk to anyone, this is the person that should be an Evangelist. they person who has a gift for writing should write to encourage people in there heavenly walk. Those who can teach, teach about God. Those who can make music, make music proclaiming the goodness of God. Because there will come a time when we will not be able to do all of this, so do it now while the chance is still here. We all have a part to play in God's kingdom, and God wants us to use our gifts for good cause there is already so much evil in the world. Why not use our gifts to help uplift the people. Something to think about.

Other ways to show affection

We as a society are taught that the way to show affection is sex. Now does that make sense? How would you then show affection to your mate when there is no sex before Marriage? How are you supposed to show any type of affection if the only way to do it is through sex.
Fellas, I don't want to alienate anyone but you are more likely to take a woman showing affection as her wanting to sleep with you. However, 1 Corinthians 13 talks about Charity.
Charity is the utmost form of love. So it says:

1 Corinthians 13

¹Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

⁴Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

⁵Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

⁶Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

⁷Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

⁸Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

⁹For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

¹⁰But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

¹²For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

¹³And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

To show affection is to be kind to them, help them in times of trouble, and so any other things.
Do you need to change the way you show affection? I know I do in a lot of areas.