Want To Get Along? Humble Yourself

If you want to stop the conflicts in your life and get along with others, learn to ask forgiveness from God and from those you hurt.

James 4:8 says, “Wash your hands and purify your hearts”.

Our hands represent our conduct, and our hearts represent our attitude.

Paul is basically saying: Clean up your act. Be sorry for your self-centeredness.

It is a big deal when someone you care about is hurt. Take it seriously. If someone says you hurt him, then you did. It may not be a big deal to you, but it was to him. Be willing to ask forgiveness.

Think of the person who causes the most conflict in your life. Would you consider resolving the conflict with that person? Are you willing to apologize for your part? Maybe he or she is 95% at fault, but your responsibility is to take care of your 5% and let God handle the rest.

How humbling would it be for you to say, “I know we’ve had our differences and I haven’t always been thoughtful. A lot of times I’ve thought more about myself than your needs.”

It wouldn’t just be humbling; it would be impossible without God’s grace.

The only way you’re going to change is to be humble, and the only way to be humble is to ask forgiveness.

The first step is the hardest, but it’s also the most important. It’s humbling, sure, but God gives grace to the humble. Maybe this week you need to write a letter or make a call. Take the first step.

God doesn’t want to keep you down on the ground. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”  The way to honor is humility.

I used to think the way to be honored by my wife and kids was to never admit that I was wrong. I figured if my kids thought I was wrong, they wouldn’t respect me any more. It wasn’t a surprise when I found out they already knew I wasn’t perfect. I found that the way I gained honor before my wife and kids was to admit I was wrong.

To be honored by your love ones and the Lord, you must humble yourself.

To stop the fighting, give in to God, get wise to Satan, grow closer to God, and be willing to ask forgiveness.


Talk About It

• Think of the last time you were the recipient of someone’s humble apology. What impact did it have on your relationship with that person and with the Lord?

• Is there someone you need to forgive today? Is there someone you need to go to and ask forgiveness?

• Do you believe that God can restore a relationship that you have given up on? What do you think he wants you to do to help make that happen?

-R. Warren

Breaking Free from Unhappiness

A woman in her 30's came to see me. As she greeted, I could sense the pain behind her polite smile. She started telling me her story and her smile changed into grimace of pain. She began to sob uncontrollably. She said she felt lonely and unfulfilled. There was anger and sadness.

As a child, she had been abused by a violent father. I saw quickly that her pain was not caused by her present life circumstances but by past heavy pain-body. Her body has become the filter through which she viewed her life situation. She was not yet able to see the link between the emotional pain and her thoughts, being completely identified with both. She could not yet see that she was feeding the pain-body with her thoughts. In other words, she lived with burden of a deeply unhappy self.

I directed the focus of her attention to what she was feeling inside her body and asked her to sense the emotion directly, instead of through the filter of her unhappy thoughts, her unhappy story. She said she expected me to show her the way out of her unhappiness. Reluctantly, she did what I asked her to do. Tears were rolling down her face, her whole body was shaking.

"At this moment, this is what you feel", I said. There is nothing you can do about the fact that at this moment, this is what you feel. Now, instead of wanting this moment to be different from the way it is, which adds more to the pain that is already there, is it possible for you to completely accept that this is what you feel right now?"


She was quiet for a moment.  Suddenly, she looked impatient and said angrily, "No, I don't want to accept this!"

"Who is speaking?" I asked her. You or the unhappines in you?  Can you see that your unhappiness about being unhappy is just another layer of unhappiness?"

She became quiet again.

"I am not asking you to do anything.  All I'm asking is that you find out whether it is possible for you to allow those feelings to be there. In other words, and this may sound strange, if you don't mind being unhappy, what happens to the unhappiness?  Don't you want to find out?"

She looked puzzled and while sitting silently, I noticed a significant shift in her energy and said,  "This is weird. I'm still unhappy but there's a space around it. It seems to matter less".

That space comes when there is inner acceptance of whatever you are experiencing in this present moment.

-E.Tolle

It's Up To You - Do Something!

There are those who would much rather burn bridges, than build one; who would disassociate than circulate themselves; who find great satisfaction in another person's sorrow and misery than being the source of one's joy and jubilation; the one who would prefer to have the world revolve around them than to be a part of a community; who often regards oneself as a victim of circumstance while failing to look at the mirror. Humility is abandoned, replaced by avarice, resentment, anger and the worst culprit of all: self-righteousness. The glass becomes half empty, and yet one drowns inside its ugly cesspool of negativity.

Life is too short to bathe oneself in a toxic concoction of petty grievances. Or any kind of grievance for that matter. Live life. Love life. In the final analysis, genuine reverence is an honour bestowed by others: it is earned, not coerced. "No Man Is An Island", my friend.

For all types of Love: romantic, family, friendly - Happy Love Day ♥

-Unknown

Brilliantly Flawed

A well-known actor said he enjoyed playing “flawed” characters in movies because people could relate better to an imperfect character.

Most of us would agree that it’s easier to understand people who aren’t perfect because we are imperfect.

God included stories in the Bible of people who were deceitful, weak, unreliable, and angry.

Take Jacob, who deceived his father so that he would receive a blessing (Gen. 27:1-29).

There was Gideon, who was unsure of God that he asked Him twice for proof that He would be faithful to do what He said He would do (Judg. 6:39).

Then Peter, who feared for his own safety, even denied knowing his friend and Lord (Mark 14:66-72).

But all people in these stories were able to overcome their shortcomings and ultimately became useful.  That happened when they depended on God and not on themselves.

God’s strength is made perfect in weakness,
For when we are weak He is strong;
He gives us His grace and His power
To overcome in us what’s wrong

It’s good to learn of our weakness if it drives us to lean on God’s strength.

- ODB

You Are For Me

So faithful, so constant and so true So powerful in all You do You fill me, You see me You know my every move You love for me to sing to You I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart To remind me who You are So patient, so gracious, so merciful and true So wonderful in all You do You fill me, You see me You know my every move You love for me to sing to You Lord, I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart To remind me Lord, I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart To remind me who You are To remind me I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart To remind me who You Are

Music Video:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbSMfL5LuSo

What Does Quiet Time Look Like?

Having a quiet time is like many other activities you might do in life. To be successful, it helps to have a plan.

The Bible says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5).

So what does a daily quiet time look like?

First, be quiet before the Lord. The Bible calls it waiting on God. You start by simply sitting down and shutting up. As you do this, you’ll find yourself revving your engine down and calming yourself. 

Second, pray briefly. Start off with a short opening prayer. Ask God to open your mind and guide you. Ask him to cleanse your mind.

Read a portion of Scripture slowly. This is where your conversation with God begins. He starts speaking to you through his Word, and then you speak back to him through prayer. Read the Bible slowly. Don’t try to read too quickly or too much. The more slowly you read Scripture, the more you’re forced to think about what you’re reading.

Meditate on the Word. Spend some time chewing on what God is saying. Chew on the Word like cows chew on cud. Ponder and wrestle with it in your mind. There are lots of great methods for meditating on the Word. You can find specific ideas on how to meditate on the Bible in my book Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods.

Write down what you discover. When God speaks to you through his Word, care enough about what he is saying to write it down. Writing enables us to remember what God has said to us and record our discoveries.

Pray again. Be quiet. Ask God to show you his Word. Talk to God about what he has said to you. Tell him what you’re thinking about what he is saying. Talk to him about anything else that’s on your mind.
There’s not just one way to have a quiet time, but following a plan similar to this can get you started on a rewarding devotional journey.

Talk About It

• Have you ever thought about your quiet time as an intimate conversation with God?

• What distractions do you need to eliminate in order to “be quiet”?

R. Warren

Finding the Time & Place for Quiet Time

The time you spend with God is the most important part of your day.

When and Where you meet him is important. Consistency matters in both cases.

Mark 1:35 says that “very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”.

Just because Jesus got up early to pray doesn’t mean you have to.

The key is this:  Give God the best part of your day. It's the time of day you’re the freshest - morning, afternoon or night.

Most importantly, give God the best part of your day and schedule your quiet time into your day like you would any appointment.

Start slowly. If you’ve never had a quiet time before, start with five minutes. Start small and let it grow gradually. Eventually, plan for 15 minutes each day. Who doesn’t have 15 minutes?

Find a special place to meet with God. Jesus had a special place to meet with the Father.

Luke 22:39 says, “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him”.  It was Jesus’ usual habit to go to the Mount of Olives. He had a regular place where he went and prayed.

What kind of place should you look for as your “regular place”?  It should be:

• Secluded:  Look for a place where you can be alone, where it’s quiet, and where you won’t be interrupted.  A place where you can pray aloud.
• Consistent:  Make it the same place every day.

Talk About It

• Take time now to identify your “when” and “where” for your quiet time.
• Share it with a close friend who will hold you accountable.
• What are the parts of your day to which you can give attention.  Put your quiet time at the top of that list.

- R. Warren