weekly words of encouragement

Rest For Your Soul – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28, NIV). Jesus encourages you by promising to give you rest for your soul when you come to him, in other words, when you place your dependence and hopes on him. He is restful because you can “cast all your cares” on him (1 Pet. 5:7); you don’t have to do your tasks with anxiety in your soul. Whether it is a relationship, your occupation, your health, or a spiritual struggle in your heart it is usually your dependence on your own strength or your fears about the future that make you “weary and burdened”. Instead, you can come to Jesus, keep placing your burdens and dependence on him, and trust in his future for you. Jesus is king of the world and has all the power, and though he will not keep Continue Reading →

expectations unwanted thoughts

How To Deal With Unwanted Thoughts – Part 1

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You are innocently working on one of your daily tasks and all of a sudden an evil thought comes into your head. It plays for a few seconds, but you don’t embrace it. You mentally fight and reject it. Then you feel a little dazed and confused by its impact. Finally, the thought fades away. Now you are wondering how to deal with unwanted thoughts. Then you start wondering where it came from. Is this from you? Is it some buried corruption you are not aware of? Or is it from Satan? Is it a combination of the two? Is it from neither one, just a quirk of the human mind? Was it triggered by something around you by the power of suggestion? Is it just free association? You can’t really figure it out. Regardless of how they come, it is frustrating and sometimes discouraging when unwanted thoughts come in. Continue Reading →

relationships, couple

How Can I Improve My Relationship? Part 4 of 4

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This is the last of four posts that answer the question, How can I improve my relationship? In the first post we looked at the importance of knowing each other’s weaknesses and prayer. In the second post in this series we looked at being an influencer, finding good counsel and learning to listen and empathize. In the third post we looked at being courageous and developing sensitive conversation skills. Here are the final three of the 12 ways to do this. KEY 10: Let go of control and outcome. One of the biggest problems in relationships is trying to control outcomes when we don’t need to. For example, in conversations we might try to make sure that they agree with us or that the conversation ends with the result we want. Or we might try to control their actions and get stressed or angry when we can’t. Thus, it is important to ask yourself Continue Reading →

relationships, couple

How Can I Improve My Relationship? Part 3 of 4

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Today we continue with our big question, how can I improve my relationship? In the first post we looked at the importance of knowing each other’s weaknesses and prayer. In the second post in this series we looked at being an influencer, finding good counsel and learning to listen and empathize. KEY 7: Be courageous. One of the big reasons we don’t tackle relationship difficulties is that we are afraid. We are afraid of conflict, we are afraid of getting hurt, we are afraid of doing it wrong, etcetera. In order to combat this, ask yourself if you are afraid. Then ask yourself if the fear is really as big as you think. Then ask yourself if that fear should really stop you from tackling a difficulty. Is it worth some discomfort to improve a relationship? The antidote to fear is faith. Trust God to help you and to help you learn. Continue Reading →

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How Can I Improve My Relationship? Part 2 of 4

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Today we continue with our big question, how can I improve my relationship? In the previous post we looked at the importance of knowing each other’s weaknesses and prayer. KEY FOUR: Remember your role as an influencer You have heard it said “You can’t change people.” Hopefully, people who say that mean that you can’t make people change, but many people don’t understand it this way. Many people think they can’t be a channel of change for someone else, or they use that idea as an excuse not to even try because it seems like hard work. But of course we can change people in the sense that we can influence people. In fact, scripture repeatedly asks us to influence people! We are to express kindness to them even if they are an enemy (an “enemy” for the moment?), hoping that they will be affected and follow the Lord. Scripture also Continue Reading →