October 19, 2008 8:37 AM
Sam wrote:
The Love Dare Let's talk about that for a minute. Of course, I am referring to the 'book' referenced in "FIREPROOF" (now that you have all seen it), which is also available for purchase, BTW. In verse 13 of Proverbs 19, the writer says that a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping. Well, so is a quarrelsome husband, I am sure, to HIS wife. To love someone, to truly love someone, a person has to stop being a drip. ~smile~ The movie showed how both a husband and wife can be constant dripping, just a little at a time, and can lead to disastrous results. If God loves us enough to put up with our constant dripping (that is, our complaining, our sinning, our attitudes, our laziness, ete), that must be one fantastic love. And, to better that, He even let His Son DIE, in a horribly painful way, for us drips. HE sets the example for the Love Dare. HE wants us to follow His example in our everyday lives....not only loving Him in a similar manner, but also to love others likewise. How have you shown, already this morning, a little bit of God's love to someone in your household. (I'll give a couple of MY examples---1:Quietly got up and got ready for the day so I wouldn't awaken my wife. 2icked up my dirty clothes and placed in the hampers. 3:Hung up or put away my clothes my wife had washed. 4:Took care of the coupla dishes she had left out last night.) Okay, Okay, so these weren't huge things demonstrating Love, BUT, ya know, sometimes all it takes is a few little things to demonstrate a big love. Pay attention to what you do today---open a car door, wash a dish, watch less TV and talk with loved ones about THEM, sweep a floor, tell your loved ones you LOVE them....just little things. I dare ya. Reply to this
October 19, 2008 6:57 PM
joe wrote:
I understand. There are many prayers that we have come bodly to the throne to obtain mercy in this time of need. You have really helped to keep these priorities in the forefront:
We are told to treat our wives as we should so our prayers will not be hindered.1 Peter 3:7
Ephesians 5:28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. thanx Reply to this
October 19, 2008 8:44 AM
rik wrote:
11 A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. The love Dare- DAY 1: Love Is Patient "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2, NIV The first part of this dare is fairly simple. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything. It's better to hold your tongue than to say something you'll regret.
we reply to our spouses defensively most of the time because we have been offended. It is definitely a challenge to say nothing. I started this last night, after watching the movie Fireproof. I will be going to the Bookstore today to pick up a copy of the Love dare. for the next 40 days I am going to do what to book says. It will be habit forming for sure. I am issuing myself some added "incentive" to make sure I continue to dare to love my wife. No television, specifically no football, also no sex. when I desire these two things I want it to remind me about my commitment to God, and my wife. A fast of sorts if you will. The reason I choose these two is; 1-football, I love the game, specifically the Patriots, it has become almost parasitic, more important them other priorities in my life that should not be on the back seat. 2-sex, my wife believes I do nice things for her just so we will have sex, and honestly there may be some validity to her thought process. so for the next 40 days I am going to refrain from making a move and focus solely on her needs without having a hidden agenda. this will be challenging and your prayers will help. today starts with only nice comments or no comments at all. I will need patience, hopefully I have enough wisdom to be successful. My wife is aware of me doing the Love Dare, (she does not know about my added fasting) and if I know her she is going to push the buttons trying to set me off, I hope I am wrong but, I am preparing my heart for her doing so. She started last night trying to get me riled up, but I would just be quiet. Mac, Thank you for encouraging us to see this movie, I believe it is going to alter the path of my marriage for the better. I have been going through the motions, but with the wrong heart, and this movie really convicted me. Reply to this
October 19, 2008 7:10 PM
joe wrote:
Today I watched you help your wife back to your car after church. I saw the pain on her face. My heart greaved for her. I didn't know...
This is my thought: These poor men cried out to the Father and He saved them from "all" there troubles.
Your desire to make this sacrifice pleasing to Him is very cool. I'll help in any way I know how if needed ok? I have a strong feeling evil will do it's best to discourage you. Reply to this
October 19, 2008 7:18 PM
joe wrote:
I am late as usual guys - sorry. I did my usual quite time before church this morning but ran out of time for the blog.
These are the verses that really impacted me today: 8 To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. 19 Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.
In addition, I was really impacted by these verses from Psalm 19: 12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Reply to this
October 20, 2008 11:06 AM
Tony wrote:
Joe, there is no proper time for the blog it is just a place we can put our thoughts and feelings. When you say these verse impacted you what do you mean? For example when Jesus was in the desert and tempted by satan, taken to the highest place and told, bow down to me and all this will be yours, Jesus said away from me satan. I had read that several times over the years and nothing really hit me. then one day, as I was working late again, I realized satan was doing the same to me/us. Work hard long hours, neglect your family and friends, and I will give you all this, cars, money houses ,ect. It just hit me that satan offered Jesus the physical world and Jesus said away from me, but satan offers us the goods of the world and we work harder for it instead of saying away from me satan. Our priorities are wrong we need to say away from me satan all the time, we need to look at what he is tempting us with and make a righteous choice. That is how the verses impacted me. I love ya man, but how does the verse impact or apply to us today? Reply to this
October 20, 2008 12:11 PM
joe wrote:
Going forward, I'll do my best to be a little more practical in sharing God's words that will serve to be my spiritual food throughout this day. My objective is always to have the food I will need to specifically love Father, myself, and those in my circle "today". If I don't spiritually eat something that quenches the thirst of "my soul", my spirit feeds on something else which almost always ends up in spiritual sickness for the day (lust, selfishness, pride, deceit, you name it...). Evil is pretty consistent in taking advantage of my spiritual sickness to wage unrelenting attacks on those closest to me. Same old story...
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 39 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” This is the bases of our household. Our common question here, "Are you doing your best to do this?"
These are the verses today that taste pretty good to my soul: First, Proverbs 20:24 The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? My family has asked the Holy Spirit to tap into our lives on a daily bases with power because we knew we could not fix "it" without having the power promised to us from Christ. This word will help us understand that we don't have to know specifics of how the Holy Spirit works, but that we have power through the Spirit to obtain all our hearts desire. It's not by our success in obeying all the law - as the accuser (satan) would say, but by the multitude of Father's tender mercies. Glory...let us proclaim his "truth" because many perish for lack of understanding. How can we not hurt for those who are being devoured by the twisted truth of evil - "religiousness and self righteousness".
My objective on a daily bases is to beat my body (mental or physical) to make it my slave. At times it may take listening to "good" music, working out while talking to the Father, curling up on the floor crying out, or fasting - to bring my heart to the place where I can approach the throne in a way pleasing to God, like the tax collector: Luke 18:11 The Pharisee prayed: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.
Proverbs 20:27 The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive. and Proverbs 20:30 Physical punishment cleanses away evil; such discipline purifies the heart. The closer I am to the throne, the more I see myself and the more I see Father. How can I not bow down with heartfelt love and gratef Reply to this
The Love Dare
Let's talk about that for a minute. Of course, I am referring to the 'book' referenced in "FIREPROOF" (now that you have all seen it), which is also available for purchase, BTW.
In verse 13 of Proverbs 19, the writer says that a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping. Well, so is a quarrelsome husband, I am sure, to HIS wife. To love someone, to truly love someone, a person has to stop being a drip. ~smile~ The movie showed how both a husband and wife can be constant dripping, just a little at a time, and can lead to disastrous results. If God loves us enough to put up with our constant dripping (that is, our complaining, our sinning, our attitudes, our laziness, ete), that must be one fantastic love. And, to better that, He even let His Son DIE, in a horribly painful way, for us drips. HE sets the example for the Love Dare. HE wants us to follow His example in our everyday lives....not only loving Him in a similar manner, but also to love others likewise. How have you shown, already this morning, a little bit of God's love to someone in your household. (I'll give a couple of MY examples---1:Quietly got up and got ready for the day so I wouldn't awaken my wife. 2
Reply to this
I understand. There are many prayers that we have come bodly to the throne to obtain mercy in this time of need. You have really helped to keep these priorities in the forefront:
We are told to treat our wives as we should so our prayers will not be hindered.1 Peter 3:7
Ephesians 5:28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. thanx
Reply to this
11 A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
The love Dare- DAY 1: Love Is Patient
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2, NIV
The first part of this dare is fairly simple. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything. It's better to hold your tongue than to say something you'll regret.
we reply to our spouses defensively most of the time because we have been offended. It is definitely a challenge to say nothing. I started this last night, after watching the movie Fireproof. I will be going to the Bookstore today to pick up a copy of the Love dare. for the next 40 days I am going to do what to book says. It will be habit forming for sure. I am issuing myself some added "incentive" to make sure I continue to dare to love my wife. No television, specifically no football, also no sex. when I desire these two things I want it to remind me about my commitment to God, and my wife. A fast of sorts if you will. The reason I choose these two is; 1-football, I love the game, specifically the Patriots, it has become almost parasitic, more important them other priorities in my life that should not be on the back seat. 2-sex, my wife believes I do nice things for her just so we will have sex, and honestly there may be some validity to her thought process. so for the next 40 days I am going to refrain from making a move and focus solely on her needs without having a hidden agenda. this will be challenging and your prayers will help. today starts with only nice comments or no comments at all. I will need patience, hopefully I have enough wisdom to be successful. My wife is aware of me doing the Love Dare, (she does not know about my added fasting) and if I know her she is going to push the buttons trying to set me off, I hope I am wrong but, I am preparing my heart for her doing so. She started last night trying to get me riled up, but I would just be quiet.
Mac, Thank you for encouraging us to see this movie, I believe it is going to alter the path of my marriage for the better. I have been going through the motions, but with the wrong heart, and this movie really convicted me.
Reply to this
Today I watched you help your wife back to your car after church. I saw the pain on her face. My heart greaved for her. I didn't know...
This is my thought: These poor men cried out to the Father and He saved them from "all" there troubles.
Your desire to make this sacrifice pleasing to Him is very cool. I'll help in any way I know how if needed ok? I have a strong feeling evil will do it's best to discourage you.
Reply to this
I am late as usual guys - sorry. I did my usual quite time before church this morning but ran out of time for the blog.
These are the verses that really impacted me today:
8 To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.
19 Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.
In addition, I was really impacted by these verses from Psalm 19:
12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Reply to this
Joe, there is no proper time for the blog it is just a place we can put our thoughts and feelings. When you say these verse impacted you what do you mean? For example when Jesus was in the desert and tempted by satan, taken to the highest place and told, bow down to me and all this will be yours, Jesus said away from me satan. I had read that several times over the years and nothing really hit me. then one day, as I was working late again, I realized satan was doing the same to me/us. Work hard long hours, neglect your family and friends, and I will give you all this, cars, money houses ,ect. It just hit me that satan offered Jesus the physical world and Jesus said away from me, but satan offers us the goods of the world and we work harder for it instead of saying away from me satan. Our priorities are wrong we need to say away from me satan all the time, we need to look at what he is tempting us with and make a righteous choice. That is how the verses impacted me. I love ya man, but how does the verse impact or apply to us today?
Reply to this
OK - I can that
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I meant I can do that...
Reply to this
Going forward, I'll do my best to be a little more practical in sharing God's words that will serve to be my spiritual food throughout this day. My objective is always to have the food I will need to specifically love Father, myself, and those in my circle "today". If I don't spiritually eat something that quenches the thirst of "my soul", my spirit feeds on something else which almost always ends up in spiritual sickness for the day (lust, selfishness, pride, deceit, you name it...). Evil is pretty consistent in taking advantage of my spiritual sickness to wage unrelenting attacks on those closest to me. Same old story...
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 39 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” This is the bases of our household. Our common question here, "Are you doing your best to do this?"
These are the verses today that taste pretty good to my soul: First, Proverbs 20:24 The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?
My family has asked the Holy Spirit to tap into our lives on a daily bases with power because we knew we could not fix "it" without having the power promised to us from Christ. This word will help us understand that we don't have to know specifics of how the Holy Spirit works, but that we have power through the Spirit to obtain all our hearts desire. It's not by our success in obeying all the law - as the accuser (satan) would say, but by the multitude of Father's tender mercies. Glory...let us proclaim his "truth" because many perish for lack of understanding. How can we not hurt for those who are being devoured by the twisted truth of evil - "religiousness and self righteousness".
My objective on a daily bases is to beat my body (mental or physical) to make it my slave. At times it may take listening to "good" music, working out while talking to the Father, curling up on the floor crying out, or fasting - to bring my heart to the place where I can approach the throne in a way pleasing to God, like the tax collector:
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee prayed: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.
Proverbs 20:27 The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.
and Proverbs 20:30 Physical punishment cleanses away evil; such discipline purifies the heart. The closer I am to the throne, the more I see myself and the more I see Father. How can I not bow down with heartfelt love and gratef
Reply to this
oops - sorry put this entry under the wrong date
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