"Simon says? Solomon Says!" Chad O

"Simon says? Solomon Says!"

Have you every played the game Simon says? When you play it, you're not supposed to move until the leader calls out, "Simon Says!" Wise King Solomon had many rules for living. You should get to know these rules--especially the ones found in the Book of Proverbs. Then you can be guided by the things that Solomon says!

He wasn't just a king. He was also a very wise man and a good writer. When he finally put down his pen, what was this man's final advice? It's simple:

"Here is my final advice: Honor God and obey his commands." Ecclesiastes 12:13

Wow, God's mark is on everything that obeys Him. The next time you have an important choice to make, ask yourself this: "Am I honoring God and obeying Him with everything I THINK, everything I SAY, everything I DO and everything I DON"T DO? And am I doing what God wants me to do?

If you can answer those questions with a great big "YES," then go ahead. But if you're uncertain if the choice you are about to make is the right one, slow down. Why? Because that's what Solomon says...and that's what God says, too!

I hope you have a great day today.

Chad O on "Comforting Others"

Why should we comfort others if we are the ones needing comforting?

Take a minute to read II Corinthians 1:3-11

Here we are listening to the life-wisdom of Paul. On behalf of God the Father, Paul blesses his friends with grace and peace.

"PRAISE be to God...who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

Paul immediately turns attention to why God should be praised:
1. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. He is the Father of compassion.
3. He is the God of all comfort.

God comforts us how? ...in ALL of our troubles.

Why? ...so that...we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received... From whom? ...from God! Direct comfort from God to us! Personally!

Even as suffering flows into our lives, whether it be the same perils as Paul testifies about in verses 5-8, or possibly the suffering that comes from watching our child suffer, or even our own personal traumas, so too, our comfort overflows. It all happens for a reason. Why? Our answer is found in verse 9: "so that we would not rely on ourselves but on God."

What troubles do you have today? Who has recently shown you comfort? Detail why they comforted you________________________.

Close your eyes right now, no matter what is going on around you. Thank the Lord for the above mentioned person/people. In spite of their own circumstances, they took time to comfort you with the same comfort they received from God. That should mean something to you.

Marriage Humdrum...Just Click Refresh by Brad Hodges

See if this sounds familiar, married guys?

The first several years of our marriage was like most, I guess.   Rear kids, make meals, go to work, pay bills, clean house, maybe attend church, take out the garbage, do the dishes, help with homework, change light bulbs, plunge toilets, rush through bedtime routine and wake up and do it again…

Meanwhile, in my relationship with my wife… we switched our focus off similarities to differences.  We shifted our dreams with reality.  We fought over finances.  We felt misunderstood and at times disrespected.  We went to bed angry and silent on many nights….

Every couple at some point complains, “We do the same things over and over and over again!”  When a marriage gets wedged in a monotonous rut , the vacuum of intimacy sucks each spouse dry.  It is exhausting and draining.  

Wouldn't it be great to just click the refresh button?  Maybe your marriage feels monotone.  You feel stuck, and want to be unstuck.  Do you remember all the fun times you had while dating and wonder if days like those are even possible again?

So, we ask ourselves, “How do we have that great marriage again?”  “Enjoy each other in the middle of the "routine grinder"?

Enjoying marriage and your wife is actually possible in the midst of differences, hard work, toddlers, communication issues, pain, and a tight budget! 

I’ve read this perspective on marriage recently:  “God gave you your spouse to beat you down and suck the life out of you so you can be more like Jesus.”  What? No way! 

We need to raise the value of our marriage and wife, prioritize our marriage (fight against the kid-centered home), and enjoy our wife. 

Ecclesiastes 9:9 -  Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days.  For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

When you’re in a rut in your marriage; enjoy life!  Live life and pursue it!  Decide now not to waste it!  Celebrate the little things.  If your marriage is in crisis mode, my prayer for you is that you will find hope again.  Jesus breathes life into dead people, and I know He breathes life into dead marriages.

Over the next several blog entries, we’ll look at a bunch of different warning signs that will help us identify marriage pits that most couples drift into.  And, we’ll look at the decisions necessary to having fun again together.