Ecclesiastes 4:9-11
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is the importance of having a brotherhood of believers that we can depend on surrounding us. This passage shows that God wants us to have fellowship with others who follow him. Not because its fun or because they like the same things as us, but because they hold the same belief in Jesus Christ as our savior. So where there are two who believe there is strength.
So why are we so quick to judge our brothers in Christ? Is it because our human nature desires for us to be better than others around us? I know that recently I've been catching myself thinking negatively about the people around me. I judge them for things that I honestly don't even know much about! Romans 2:1 says this:
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
I think its common for the devil to use our pride and self-worth to cripple us. He tries to tell us that we know everything better than the person next to us. It is SO important for us to dwell on scripture and be reminded day by day that these thoughts are not of God. It is his will for his believers to be united. Jesus says this in Mark 3:24-25:
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
So it is made pretty clear in scripture that keeping our relationships with our fellow believers strong and un-corrupted is important! Don't let gossip or petty arguments get in the way. If you're feeling like you are judging your friends unjustly, pray for God to remove that sinful tendency from you! Your relationships will thrive and God will bless them.
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Everybody Needs Somebody
Something that I have been thinking about lately is the concept of how detrimental it is to be a loner in life and try to skate through without any significant relationships. I think that all of you understand what I am saying, but in case you don’t let me explain. How many of us have relationships in our lives, whether they be friendships, work relation, or family, that we would consider to be significant, but we really have no idea why? Is it simply that they are important to us because they have to be, or we enjoy the same things, or we have a good time together, or is it because those relationships have gotten beyond the superficial and have dug down deep into the very depth of our souls? For many of us, if not all of us, including myself, I am afraid that the most significant, important relationships in our lives fall very short of what they could be – how God designed them to be. Now, let me set something straight. My concept of a loner and your concept may be completely different; so let me explain myself. My concept is simply of a person who has not given themselves completely over to any relationship. Though they may or may not be surrounded by friendships or family or whatever, they live in isolation simply because no one knows who they are. They keep people outside and at times push them away, never letting anyone come inside to see how God has decorated the interior of their heart.
I am not saying that we ought to go around baring our souls and walking around naked all the time, but it is essential for us to sometimes strip down and take the plunge into Relationship Lake that is filled with honesty, integrity, love, and acceptance. I know that this can be one of the most difficult things to do in life. I mean, who wants to take off their layers of work, and weather, and sports, and lies, and hypocrisy, and politics, and war, and actually stand naked before someone in their fear, and sin, and love, and faith, and dreams, and desires. Oh, wait, that actually sounds like a pretty good idea doesn’t it? Let’s be honest, all of us are looking to know and to be known by the people around us. I can’t help but think of Jesus and the disciples as an example for us all. What Jesus saw in those guys is beyond me, but you can tell as you read the Scriptures that these guys were honest and real. They had their faults and struggles but they were comfortable enough with Christ to bare themselves before Him and Christ accepted them for who they were. Sure, He wanted to see them grow, and over time they did grow and mature in their faith, but He had called them long before that took place. We too ought to be as Christ was. Accepting of those around us for who they are as well as being willing to invite people into our lives, as Christ did, and letting them see us for who we really are.
As I close I can’t help but think of two examples that accurately describe what I am trying to say. The first is a line from the chorus of Keith Urban’s song “Everybody.” This says it very well and very simply, “Everybody needs somebody sometimes.” The second is from the movie “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” The movie closes with Frodo and Sam walking down a path through some woods on their way to Mordor; they are wondering together what it would be like to have people read about their adventures and what they would say of them. As they are walking and talking Frodo turns around to look at Sam and says, “Frodo wouldn’t have made it far without Sam.” Friends, we all need somebody sometimes because in the end we can’t make it far without the help of those around us. Don’t let yourself be a loner. Be willing to take the plunge into an honest and real relationship. It may be difficult, but you’ll never regret doing it.
by Justin Kantonen
originally posted March 2008
I am not saying that we ought to go around baring our souls and walking around naked all the time, but it is essential for us to sometimes strip down and take the plunge into Relationship Lake that is filled with honesty, integrity, love, and acceptance. I know that this can be one of the most difficult things to do in life. I mean, who wants to take off their layers of work, and weather, and sports, and lies, and hypocrisy, and politics, and war, and actually stand naked before someone in their fear, and sin, and love, and faith, and dreams, and desires. Oh, wait, that actually sounds like a pretty good idea doesn’t it? Let’s be honest, all of us are looking to know and to be known by the people around us. I can’t help but think of Jesus and the disciples as an example for us all. What Jesus saw in those guys is beyond me, but you can tell as you read the Scriptures that these guys were honest and real. They had their faults and struggles but they were comfortable enough with Christ to bare themselves before Him and Christ accepted them for who they were. Sure, He wanted to see them grow, and over time they did grow and mature in their faith, but He had called them long before that took place. We too ought to be as Christ was. Accepting of those around us for who they are as well as being willing to invite people into our lives, as Christ did, and letting them see us for who we really are.
As I close I can’t help but think of two examples that accurately describe what I am trying to say. The first is a line from the chorus of Keith Urban’s song “Everybody.” This says it very well and very simply, “Everybody needs somebody sometimes.” The second is from the movie “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” The movie closes with Frodo and Sam walking down a path through some woods on their way to Mordor; they are wondering together what it would be like to have people read about their adventures and what they would say of them. As they are walking and talking Frodo turns around to look at Sam and says, “Frodo wouldn’t have made it far without Sam.” Friends, we all need somebody sometimes because in the end we can’t make it far without the help of those around us. Don’t let yourself be a loner. Be willing to take the plunge into an honest and real relationship. It may be difficult, but you’ll never regret doing it.
by Justin Kantonen
originally posted March 2008
Monday, January 18, 2010
Speak Out - He Will Show You the Way
God has been doing a lot in my life the past two years. I graduated from AFLBS (Association Free Lutheran Bible School) this past May and am currently a youth worker in Wheatland, IA. It all started two years ago during spring of my senior year of High School. I was set on going to a Community College near my home
town of Lisbon, IL. I had been accepted and taken my placement tests. I had been to campus days before and fell in love with Bible School, but at first my parents weren’t too keen on the whole idea of me taking two whole years off and going to a school with barely any credits that would transfer. Then one day I was looking at the AFLBS website and saw that there was a Dean’s Luncheon that I could take a tour and eat with some of the staff. I told my dad that I really wanted him to see the school and how much it meant to me. After that trip my dad loved the school and environment! That next fall I began my Bible School adventure.
These past two years have been a time where I have matured and grown very much spiritually. Being out of the house from my parents forced me to grow up and grow in my relationship with the Lord. Some great scripture from Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Those words of the Lord hit me hard. After four years of public high school I had been corrupted and needed to be renewed. I dug deep into the Word and experienced it in a whole new aspect. I remember Pastor Haugen saying that we would never leave his class the same person. Oh and it was so true, my faith became stronger and I discovered just how great God’s grace truly is.
During the middle of my second year of Bible School I started to worry about what was next, what was after this? Then I became very stressed over my future. I was stressed most because I truly wanted to do God’s will. I had taken Intro to Youth Ministry class with Jason Holt and LOVED it. I learned so much about working with youth and what that ministry was all about. One day Jason told a story about a boy in youth group that had not felt accepted and didn’t enjoy youth group very much. It had a lot more detail, but it ended with the leader saying that he had lost a child today. My heart suddenly went out to kids everywhere and that I didn’t want to see that happen. Jason invited our class to the annual Youth Workers Retreat this past January. I still didn’t know what was up for the summer. If it was summer teams, a mission trip, or stay at home and work. At this retreat on the second night I and some others stayed up all night. During that night we had some deep discussion, about our spiritual lives and how we were doing. I told them about my situation and stress about doing God’s will. One man pointed out that yes I wanted to do God’s will, but I wasn’t trusting Him to show me the way. Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to mind… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” That next Monday at school Nate came to school and announced an opening for an
internship as a youth worker in Wheatland, IA. I felt God pulling me towards that position and I talked to Nate and applied. It’s a small town just like I grew up in and has a group of girls that needed God’s love. I have finished the internship and have been asked to stay for this next school year. God showed me the way and I followed. Stick close to the Lord and He will show you the way.
by Emily Holman
originally posted August 2008
town of Lisbon, IL. I had been accepted and taken my placement tests. I had been to campus days before and fell in love with Bible School, but at first my parents weren’t too keen on the whole idea of me taking two whole years off and going to a school with barely any credits that would transfer. Then one day I was looking at the AFLBS website and saw that there was a Dean’s Luncheon that I could take a tour and eat with some of the staff. I told my dad that I really wanted him to see the school and how much it meant to me. After that trip my dad loved the school and environment! That next fall I began my Bible School adventure.
These past two years have been a time where I have matured and grown very much spiritually. Being out of the house from my parents forced me to grow up and grow in my relationship with the Lord. Some great scripture from Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Those words of the Lord hit me hard. After four years of public high school I had been corrupted and needed to be renewed. I dug deep into the Word and experienced it in a whole new aspect. I remember Pastor Haugen saying that we would never leave his class the same person. Oh and it was so true, my faith became stronger and I discovered just how great God’s grace truly is.
During the middle of my second year of Bible School I started to worry about what was next, what was after this? Then I became very stressed over my future. I was stressed most because I truly wanted to do God’s will. I had taken Intro to Youth Ministry class with Jason Holt and LOVED it. I learned so much about working with youth and what that ministry was all about. One day Jason told a story about a boy in youth group that had not felt accepted and didn’t enjoy youth group very much. It had a lot more detail, but it ended with the leader saying that he had lost a child today. My heart suddenly went out to kids everywhere and that I didn’t want to see that happen. Jason invited our class to the annual Youth Workers Retreat this past January. I still didn’t know what was up for the summer. If it was summer teams, a mission trip, or stay at home and work. At this retreat on the second night I and some others stayed up all night. During that night we had some deep discussion, about our spiritual lives and how we were doing. I told them about my situation and stress about doing God’s will. One man pointed out that yes I wanted to do God’s will, but I wasn’t trusting Him to show me the way. Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to mind… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” That next Monday at school Nate came to school and announced an opening for an
internship as a youth worker in Wheatland, IA. I felt God pulling me towards that position and I talked to Nate and applied. It’s a small town just like I grew up in and has a group of girls that needed God’s love. I have finished the internship and have been asked to stay for this next school year. God showed me the way and I followed. Stick close to the Lord and He will show you the way.
by Emily Holman
originally posted August 2008
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