ARE YOU WILLING TO BE THE THERMOSTAT IN YOUR HOME

What are the major stress causing sources in your home? How are you reacting to those problems? Are your reactions helping or irritating the situations?

If another family member is the cause or the root of a problem in your home, you need to remember one important fact when dealing with them! That fact is, that no matter where the problem is coming from or who is causing it, you yourself have a very important part to play. As a matter of fact your reaction to every problem will either flame the fire or play an important roll in controlling the temperature of how hot the situation gets!

Someone must be willing to be the thermostat to anger in your home. Will it be you? Are you really willing to let God use your life to reach your family....if so, you must learn the life of sacrifice....You must learn to adjust your anger and your attitude about being right in order to calm a situation.

In the summertime, in your home, when you feel the heat rising, you will go to the thermostat on the wall and adjust it to bring balance to the air in order to make it more bearable. The same principle applies in bringing balance about in a heated situation between two or more people that are disagreeing over something maybe said or done.

Instead of thinking through what you would like to say to make your point, you might try thinking about what you can say to calm the situation and bring the temperature down to where the conversation can be discussed in a more controlled order or manner. Many times you may even have to just let it go...don't "have to have" your way or prove your point. I love a verse in the Bible that says it best....I Peter 2:13..."submit yourself for the Lord's sake...." sometimes we just need to humble ourselves, not having it our way, and let God do the rest.

Once you have identified the problem and surveyed the situation, determine a plan to transform the source. For instance, if your mate is angry at you, instead of trying to defend yourself over and over, state your case once, leave the rest to God (knowing that He knows the real facts) and simply apologize for any wrongdoing on your part. I am saying for the sake of arguing, be willing to calm the situation by not flaming the fire with your efforts to prove your credibility and correctness. Remember we all see things from our own frame of reference....and point of view, not necessarily the truth or the facts, but by the truth and facts as we see them.

Try to see things from their perspective, even if they may be wrong, still try and see it their way. I am not saying see it their way and believe it the way they see it....but simply understand why or where they are coming from and then you will at least be able to see it from their standpoint. At that point as you do, your patience and understanding of them gives you credibility for them to trust you with how they are feeling and in turn lowers the temperature to a level of talk and discuss and not arguing and fighting. 

These helps are never meant to give total victory over family problems....but I will tell you this, they have helped give guidance in my own home as well as victory as I have applied what God has taught me through them. I pray that as you become more willing to be the thermostat in your home in aiding arguments that are apt to break out at any given time, you will be the broken bread in your family that will lead them to the Lord and be the visual Christ for them through your humility, brokenness and willing spirit to bring them the peace that they are seeking.

Loving you today,

Bren  

REVIVE US O LORD

A W Tozer once said, "Sometimes we begin to see ourselves as "nice people" instead of "sinners saved by grace". We have found a comfortable spot and we will not budge." But may I encourage you today sweet friend, do budge...we must budge! Please pray with me that God will fan the fire of revival as we breathe out the call to each other for it!

Collectively as the body of Christ, all over this world, our concern need not be for the lost only, but for the integrity of the One Who’s name we bare. It is not because the lost are dying and going to hell that Revival is so needed, but becasue God's children are blaspheming the name of God through our unrepented hearts and lifestyles.

As America continues to increase in her wickedness by throwing God aside and His laws that once ruled her; the only hope that remains for us is that we turn back... to God. Starting with the church and our Christian homes. We can not blame the degrading morals of America on the lost, but, must take responsiblity ourselves, personaly, individually. Nations perrish because good men stay silent.

“Watch out”, Jesus answered, “For Many will come in my name, claiming to be the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains. Then, you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people”, and Jesus continues to explain why all this will come about; Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…. Matthew 24:4-12

Revival is an extraordinary movement of God's Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results....

May the God of revival deliver us from contentment with the ordinary while He stands ready to do the extraordinary for us!
Praying for us all to want and experience REAL Revival!
Bren

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

Two are better than one, because they have a  good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together they will keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

These verses reveal to us the importance of having others in our lives to help us in our daily task... in our tribulations... in our comfort as well as our defense against our enemies. They assure us that there is power in relationships and friends that we do not possess within ourselves alone.

We are also reminded in the New Testament that where two or three are gathered in Christ name He is there in the midst with them. Jesus has told us that He would never leave us nor forsake us...so we are never to feel like we are ever alone. You see sweet friend, if you are in Christ, you can be assured that you are never alone. He is a faithful companion. He is the other side of that relationship... Pursue Him, look for Him, seek Him as a hidden treasure....you will find Him...He is there waiting for you to come....

Friends will come into your life and they will go....and blessed is the one who has friends.... but, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends....John 15:13....and this is what Jesus did for you!

Loving on you this Valentine's Day!
Bren

THE ONE I DESIRE

How does one get to know God? How can we understand His ways? How can our hearts be completely His? Those are questions that many people would love to have an answer to, yet in the simplicity of the question lies the truth in what we seek. To know Him.. to understand Him and be so totally in love with Him is to DESIRE HIM!

The more we seek Him, the more we know Him, the more we know Him, the more we want Him, and the more we want Him, the more we love Him! It is that simple. Sadly however, many people will never desire God on the level of knowing Him personally as their Savior…their Friend or their Lord.

You see we can not love God merely on circumstances. For our circumstances can never be trusted to indicate with certainty what our actions should be or what God’s purposes are in how He chooses to move in our lives. In Ecc. 8:14-9:1 Solomon wrote about the futility in trying to determine God’s will on the basis of circumstances. Scripture only permits the child of God to be Shadrach’s, Meshach’s and Abednego’s… who’s life responses says to the world that our faith is great enough that we will trust God no matter what happens…for we know Him, and although we may not understand all His way, we trust Him, and our hearts are turned toward Him no matter the situation or outcome.

I once read a story about a young coal miner who because of his injuries in a mine accident became an invalid. Over the course of his life he watched as his friends raised their families, prospered and enjoyed life’s recreations. Many days passed as the young man watched others enjoy the rewards of having families, being able bodied to take care of their homes and provide for their loved ones and playing with grandchildren in which he knew that he would never have. He sat and watched as his body withered away, his house crumbled and the missed joy of having a family to comfort him in his old age.

One day a young man came to visit the old man. He had heard that the man was a lover of God and showed his strong faith by never wavering in all his tribulations. As he asks the old man, “How can you believe in God through such things, with all that has happened to you? Don’t you sometimes doubt God’s love for you?”

With that the old man smiled and then replied, “Yes, it is true. Sometimes satan comes calling on me in this old fallen down house of mine. He pulls up a chair and sits down beside me and begins his questions….he points out my window to the strong, still active men that I once worked with, and says, “Does Jesus love you? Then the devil will cast a jeering glance around my tattered room as he points to the fine homes that my friends across the street have and will say to me, “Does Jesus love you?”.  Finally, satan points to the grandchild of a friend of mine, a man who has everything that I do not, and after I have shed a tear or two, satan will say, “Does Jesus really love you?”.

And what do you say when satan speaks to you like that, ask the young man. Said the old miner, “In my mind, I take satan by the hand and lead him to a hill called Calvary. There I point to the thorn tortured brow, to the nail pierced hands and feet, and to the spear wound in His side….then I ask satan, “Doesn’t Jesus love me?”

You see the cross is our confidence in God in spite of lifelong heartaches. Had any of us ever stood at the foot of the cross and seen the physical and spiritual horror; we would have cried out to God to stop the suffering that His Son undertook on our behalf. Knowing that we could not nor would we be able to bear it, He deserves our continued longevity in our faith and commitment and devotion out of His great love for us.  Your faith will find it’s true focus as you look to the cross, and you do that by knowing God through His Word, giving your life over completely to what He ask of you, and trusting the outcomes for every life’s circumstance. This is how you will know if you are “Desiring Him”….for to love Him is to know Him, to know Him is to love Him!

Loving you and praying that you too will know the One I Desire....
Bren

LOOK... FOR WHAT GOD IS ABOUT TO DO!

Do you remember the story of "Three Princes of Serendipity? It is an old classic about three rulers who set out to find treasure and while they were looking, found something even better than what they had expected. The word serendipity means to, “live expecting surprises”. As a child of God that is exactly what we should be doing....living, expecting God to work on our behalf far beyond our expectations! One day, God surprised a young shepherd boy named David, by calling him to be one of the greatest kings the world has ever known. From a burning bush God also called a forgiven murderer to lead His people into the Promise Land and free them from their burdens and bondages that they had gotten themselves into. As one door had shut and other doors slammed, Paul, upon receiving a vision or call you might say in Acts 16:9 responded by going over to Macedonia to help a man crying out to him....and the result was that a non-Jewish world heard the gospel message for the first time. All through the ages God keeps showing up in your life and in the life of others. He is showing up unexpectedly and He is changing things! He is still the God of surprise and says to you and I....."See, I am doing a new thing!" Perhaps you may be saying, "if you only knew my situation, you'd understand that nothing is ever going to change.....the scriptures tell us that, "Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you..." Oh sweet friend, did you hear that? I said, the scriptures tell us that, "Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you..."Isa. 30:18.He is just waiting to show what He can do for you! Talk to Him, find out what His plans may be....if He doesn't tell you right away, be still and wait.....BUT, trust Him and start looking for His surprises.... "See, I am doing a new thing....do you not perceive it?..." Isa 43:19 God longs to be good to us.....but He demands obedience....and if he says to us, Look, See, Do....then we need to listen and obey! Loving on you today, Bren