Thanksgiving. The word invokes many different thoughts for many different peoples. To some, it’s a time when relatives and family gather together to share a good meal along with fellowship and fun. To others, it’s a time with hurt because of memories of the past. Whatever your personal thanksgiving experiences have been…I’m here to tell you that they can always be better!

It is so easy to view thanksgiving as merely a day off of school or work, or whatever responsibilities you have. We just think and live the word “rest” and pretty soon the day flies by with perhaps a nice meal to top it off. While it is not bad to rest or eat well on thanksgiving, I think we are missing the main point of the day - it is a day to give thanks. But for what? and To whom? What should we be thankful for and who do we thank for it?? The Bible has answers for these two important questions! Let’s take a look at two key passages that will help answer these: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and Philippians 4:4-7. From them we can derive at least a few points…

To be thankful is to be JOYFUL (1 Thessalonians 5:16; Philippians 4:4)

Joy. Another one of those words than can have many connotations, but put those aside for now. Let’s look at that word within the context of the two passages above. We are commanded to “be joyful always” (1 Thess 5:16) and to “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). Notice something - where is our joy supposed to be directed? It’s supposed to be “in the Lord,” not in the blessings He give us. So we are to delight more in the Giver than in His gifts. How often? - ALWAYS. Does this mean only when things are going well or we “feel” like being joyful? No…always means always - in all ways at all times…joyful.

To be thankful is to PRAY (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 4:6)

I think here we have one of the most non-followed instructions in the Bible - “pray continually” (1 Thess 5:17 NIV). I know for me personally I often do not put aside much time for prayer. Sure…for most meals I’ll say the good ‘ol “come Lord Jesus…” prayer that I’ve grown up with. But, how often do I purposefully and undistractedly go to God in prayer? Not nearly often enough!!

One important note that needs to be made is that the instruction to “pray continually” does not mean that we must always have our heads bowed, hands folded, and eyes closed. No…that’s not the basic definition of prayer anyways. Prayer is simply talking with God…talking with the amazing Creator God who created you with the capacity to communicate with Him and be in relationship with Him. To be able to pray is to have an amazing gift! We must recognize this!

To be in a state of constant prayer has far more to do with our spiritual posture than our physical. Our hearts and minds should always be bowed before God, even when we are physically walking around or running or doing whatever. To be in constant prayer is to be constantly relying on and following the Lord. And may I add that we should be utterly humbled by what it has cost God for us to have the unrestricted privilege of constant communication with Him, namely the suffering and death of His son Jesus Christ who bore the weight of our sin and shame upon Himself. May we always be humbled as we pray…

To be thankful is to GIVE THANKS (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Philippians 4:6)

I know…this seems pretty obvious. Most of us get this one right…atleast partly right. When we think through our lives we easily can come up with a list of things to be thankful for - our family, friends, posessions, opportunities, etc. But did you notice what’s missing from that list? How about our life, namely our life in Christ. This needs to be the item that we are most thankful for!! For it is the second most valuable item to us personally (the first being the existence and character of God). I could preach a whole message here…but I will suffice it to say that we terribly fail in this department. Before you get all defensive on me…admit it. You do not thank God enough for who He is and what He has done. May my writing here be an encouragement to change this on Thanksgiving day, but most importantly, on ALL days that God graciously gives to us!

To be thankful is to have PEACE (Philippians 4:6-7)

Amidst our chaotic lives we are called to be at peace, both with God and with our circumstances. We are called to be reconciled to Him (and the only way is through Christ) and we are called to be at peace (or to be content) in all situations (see Philippians 4:10-13). Rather than being anxious over every last detail (or over any detail), we must present our requests to God in prayer with thanksgiving. And having done so, we will experience the peace of God, which transcends all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Wow! That’s quite a promise! It can be yours today by seeking the Lord dilligently with your whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13) and leaning not on your own understaning but on His (Proverbs 3:5-6).

As a final thought for you…on this Thanksgiving day 2008, be a living example of Phil 4:6-7 - praying with thanksgiving and experiencing God’s peace all day long!!

When it comes to abortion, there’s something I just don’t understand. Remember the Holocaust during World War II - 6,000,000 million Jews were viciously murdered (and I emphasize viciously murdered). After these horrific events, many around the world said “Never again!” While these people’s intentions were good I’m sure, unfortunately there’s been a disconnect between them and reality. What’s really occurred between then and now have been numerous genocides throughout the world (some still raging today) and a new type of murderous campaign - the allowed (and in some cases deliberate) murdering of unborn babies. Since Roe V. Wade something like 48,000,000+ babies have been brutally murdered. Yet people remain silent on this point, or those who are vocal are silenced by their opponents who insist a woman has a choice to murder her own son or daughter in her womb. Where is this going?? Will we wake up tomorrow being told by some leaders that it’s okay to murder our three year-old because we’re just sick and tired of their whining and crying?? Think about it people!!

We must stand up as a united front against this moral evil rampant throughout America and in the ideology of many of its leaders. I don’t care what the results are tonight; we must still stand while we have the freedom to do so! We must make important to us what is important in God’s eyes, and surely the murdering of His creations is in His sight as an evil. Let us defend those who cannot defend themselves!!

In the midst of all this, we cannot lose hope. Even if others win than those we hoped, we cannot lose our hope. No matter what occurs we must remember this vital truth - our hope is not founded in worldly governments or leaders, but in the coming King Jesus Christ! Let us trust in Him alone!

Title: Do Not Fret But Follow

Passage: Matthew 6:25-34

Commentary:

• Verse 25
  • Introducing this section is this broad encompassing statement which could be summed up as “do not worry, period.” As Christians who have been graciously given salvation, there is nothing we lack (Romans 8:32). Though we may for a time (or even our whole lives) go without certain earthly pleasures, we have an eternal inheritance that cannot be shaken, regardless of our treasures here on earth. Thus, we should not worry in the least. For in reality we have nothing of significance to worry about!
  • God who has given us both life and our body will give us the necessary things to take care of each. We may not often understand why we must wait for certain items, but we can rest assured that the God who graciously bestowed us with our lives and bodies to use, will give us the proper items to take care of these precious gifts in His glorious timing.
• Verse 26
  • In His great work of creation God created many wonderful and pleasant things, of which “birds of the air” are among. As Creator, God cares for these precious birds of His by providing their food when necessary and guiding their patterns of living. Though they may be small in size and stature, the Lord loves and cares for these birds constantly.
  • Now, are we not “much more valuable than they?” The logical answer here is “yes we are!” For humanity has been created as the pinnacle of God’s creation; the finest of all of it. So if God cares for creations less valuable than ourselves, certainly He immensely cares for us His chosen people. This kind of knowledge is what gives us the confidence and ability to not worry; the power for not worrying (as commanded in this passage) arises solely from this intimate knowledge - that God loves and cares for us deeply and is willing to do much for us, more than we can even think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
• Verse 27
  • This verse can be translated one of two ways:
    • (1) “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
      • In order for a person to worry they must take time doing so. There is no way to worry without using up time. And there is no reason to worry, because we are commanded not to worry. So to worry is to disobey Jesus’ command and waste our time. So rather than adding a hour to our lives, we take many away by worrying.
    • (2) “Who of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his height?”
      • It should be obvious, but if you want to be tall, you wouldn’t consider worrying as a strategy to get there. In fact, worrying will probably add stress to your life which, coupled with other factors, could actually stunt your growth. So, rather than adding to our height, we may be less tall by worrying. But most importantly, we must not worry because Jesus has told us not to engage in this destructive practice.
• Verses 28-30
  • The lilies of the field grow precisely how God intends them to grow. He “clothes the grass of the field” in exactly the fashion He desires. Both the lilies and the grass have something in common - they are here today and gone tomorrow. In other words, they are only temporary; they are bound to die. Yet, God is intricately working to sustain these plants.
  • As has been previously stated from v. 26, we as people have been created as the apex of creation. We are high above all other created things, which God cares for deeply. Logically we must deduce from these verses that God must care so much more for us as His beloved people! Yes, indeed He does! Ponder the implications of this glorious truth…
  • Too often we are characterized as people of “little faith”. We allow our circumstances to bog us down and we end up disobeying Jesus’ words here by giving in to our desires to fret and worry over this life. It’s meaningless to do such things, as hopefully we are learning from this passage. Instead we ought to be like Peter who at the prompting of Jesus, though he probably was greatly afraid, climbed out of a boat and into the water to go to where Jesus was at (Matthew 14:28-29). This is a giant step of faith! May we likewise take such leaps!
• Verse 31
  • The main argument of this passage is summed up here by method of repetition. Take heed and do not worry about such things as food, drink, and clothing because God will provide when we properly seek Him (v. 33).
• Verse 32
  • It’s not hard to take a look around in this world and find many people chasing after things they do not have. For those who are in desperation, they very well might be seeking the very things listed in this passage - food, drink, and clothing. Without Christ in their lives they are promised none of what they seek. No matter their charity or greed, without belief in Jesus Christ their end will be the same - eternal death - regardless of where they are in the eyes of the world upon death. Rather than “run after all these things”, these people ought to be running after God with sincere interest in Him. This interest comes only from God, and our prayer as Christians must be for God to use us as means to bring about this result in people’s lives! For His glory we must pray!
  • Our righteous Father knows what we need; how wonderful and so true! Surely by now we have read of enough promises to keep us from worrying again! But we do live in the flesh, so we must be in constant prayer for God to remind us of the plethora of Truth that is Jesus Christ (John 14:6)!
• Verse 33
  • This verse highlights the way in which we cast aside the worries of this world - by taking up the desires of God and delighting in His divine providence. Rather than seek things the world allegedly can give, we must seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteous, and in so doing we will receive ample worldly needs. How glorious! We get what we need here on earth not by serving ourselves, but by serving God! Rather than a “me first” or a “looking out for #1″ kind of attitude, we must have a “God first” or “looking out for His will” kind of attitude. This is what it means to be a true follower of Christ - to seek to know and do the will of the One you’re following. Otherwise, if this type of seeking isn’t your goal, you are not truly a follower by definition. A true follower of Christ will have as his or her sole mission the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom and the praise of His name! Ask yourself - “is this my goal?” If not, repent and pray for immediate change within your heart and mind. We are called to be His disciples, and real disciples go with an attitude of “Him first” wherever their Master leads them. Will you follow this awesome King with all of your heart??
• Verse 34
  • Again the main theme is repeated to close up this section - “do not worry”. Earlier on the author discussed three main items of which we must never worry over - food, drink, and clothes. Now the author vastly extends this list to everything tomorrow could hold (which is a lot by the way!). The point being that we have no legitimate thing to be worrying about, nor a legitimate reason to ever worry. So don’t worry…ever again…by God’s grace!
  • We must live our life in the present, for God has given us enough things to work through and deal with today in the great strength He provides. Let us receive this strength by daily following after our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for He is the only source of such divine help and hope. If you do not know of such hope, I implore you to repent of your sins, turn to Christ with faith in His finished work at the cross, and be saved today! Know that you are not saved because you’ve done enough good or not worried too much, but rather your salvation would be because of His divine mercy and election. Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today, for He is the only hope for the world!!

Over at the Boundless blog, Denise Morris writes a very honest post about her meditations on this question. She makes a lot of good points, many of which I should be thinking about way more often than I do. How about giving her post a read??

One thing she wrote really stuck out to me:

“…I think Jesus wants me to actually apply the words I write to my own life.”

This statement was really convicting to me. At times I believe I can write words with a certain eloquence that inspires others, but fails to impact my own life. Why? I do not fully know. But I know that anything I write that is of any true value is of the Lord, and He is able to impact my life as He already has so beautifully. So, I need to more fully surrender to Him and align my will with His sovereign will. He deserves all the praise; may you and I both give Him due worship through both the hardships and pleasures of life, for that would truly change the world for Christ!!

Though situations seem daunting and practically impossible at times, we are servants of the King who did the otherwise impossible - rise from the grave! He has defeated death and sin for those who believe once and for all. Surely in His sovereign will and timing He can overcome all things surrounding our lives too and the world can be changed for His glory!

Over at the Reformation21 blog, I saw a great post by Sean Lucas addressing the troubling times we’re in with an aura of confidence and trust in God. He sums up his fairly short post by saying:

I take my heart to God–he is a refuge and a rock, even in a world that seems like it is shaking. I can pour my heart out to him, because he hears in his strength and his might. And I find him to be salvation and glory, even when I find I must tighten my belt a bit. I wait for God in silence and hope that he will speak–for God is a refuge for us.

So, yeah…give his blog post a read, and then read Psalm 62:1-12. Trust in the Lord amidst these uncertain times!

Here’s a little history of how my friend & I arrived at where we are:
During our first week of meeting as a group at the beginning of this fall semester we handed out little cards to people and we asked them to write down topics that they wanted to be addressed at some point during the semester. A wide variety of topics were written down, and several of them have already been the focus of a weekly study. Of them, one person wrote down “The Ministry of Christ” as a topic. At first we really didn’t consider this too much as it seemed to be a complex and long topic, and other topics grabbed our attention. But, as we were pondering and praying recently as to what we should lead on, we both came to the conclusion that a study of the life and ministry of Jesus would be awesome, as He should be the prime focus of all our studies.

So, we begin this quest of exploring His life & ministry with the hope that all of us will grow closer to Him; that is our prayer for each of you reading this. As you read the inspired text from God’s Word and our human commentary, may the God of the Word bring you into a greater knowledge of the Truth - Jesus Christ! It is to that end that we labor - that God would be glorified through our fully submitting our lives to His will. Praise be to Him!! Now…go through and read these studies with a prayerful spirit expecting God to aid you!

So, without further ado…I present to you the page which should be updated each week with a new study:

The Life & Ministry of Jesus Christ - Message Series

Passage: John 1:1-18

Commentary:

• Verses 1-2
  • The “Word” refers to Jesus, the incarnate Christ (v. 14). Saying He was “in the beginning” is to say He is eternal because to be at the beginning is to imply that one was already there preceding the beginning they’ve arrived at. So, we learn from this verse that Jesus is (1) eternal; (2) with the Father; and (3) God.

CENTRALITY of Jesus Christ:

• Verse 3
  • Jesus was the central agent through which all things came into being. In other words, the existence of everything is owing to Jesus Christ; He is the central One who has created all. Just as He is the central agent of creation, may He be the central focus of our lives.
• Verses 4-5
  • Life is only found “in [H]im”; It is not found in the pleasures or successes of this fleeting life. It is not the case that a person has a good life before accepting Jesus, and then they add him as a part of their life, as if He were some accessory. NO! Jesus IS life! (John 14:6) If a person has life, then they must have Jesus; otherwise, they have nothing. To have Jesus is to have life; to not have Jesus is to not have life - to have death instead.
  • Jesus is a shining light in this dark world. He pierces the darkness of many souls and saves them. Only His light and presence bring life to the soul, for He is the only life-giver because He alone is life.
  • The latter part of v. 5 can be translated in two ways:
    • (1) “but the darkness has not understood it” - The dark souls of humanity cannot comprehend the light of Jesus Christ on their own; they need divine revelation. Fortunately, Jesus is the light source which illuminates the souls of many.
    • (2) “and the darkness has not overcome it” - The Devil, his agents, and sinful humanity will never ultimately overcome the power of the Light. Each, apart or together, can strive endlessly to diminish the light of Christ, but they will fail. While it may appear at times that these forces are winning out against the Lord, in the realm of eternity their alleged victories are but a passing moment that would be missed by merely blinking.
• Verses 6-8
  • This man, John the Baptist, was not the Messiah (”Anointed One”). He was but a “witness to testify concerning” the true Light, so that humanity might believe in Him. We too, are not messiahs, but are witnesses of Jesus. As we live our daily lives, we are called to testify of this Jesus who has set us free from the bondage of sin and death. Just as John the Baptist gave everything he had in testifying (even his very own life - Luke 9:9), we too must be willing to give up all for the sake of the Gospel. As we live this Christ-centered life all for His glory, we are storing up eternal treasures (Matthew 6:19-21) that are indeed promised to those who are faithful (Mark 10:29-31).

SUPREMACY of Jesus Christ:

• Verse 9
  • Once again, Jesus is the only “true light”. It is only this Light that truly illuminates the soul of a person.
• Verses 10-11
  • The creation did not recognize its Creator; this is the plight of humanity caused by sin. Even though people are created in the image of God, the presence of sin has marred the nature of unsaved humanity; thus, they do not accurately perceive who their Creator is and what He demands.
  • When Jesus came and went about His earthly ministry, many did not understand who He really was (Matthew 16:13-14). Some thought he was just a good teacher, a miracle man, a messenger, or what have you. Truth is He was all of these, but also far more. He was the Messiah, sent from God the Father to be the atoning sacrifice to forgive the sins of those who would believe, so that the Father would be glorified. Let us say as Peter did to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). May this confession of ours be used by God to spur us on to have the proper response to the significance of what it means to call Jesus the “Christ” (this is not a light statement, but one that demands the entire life of one who affirms it).
• Verses 12-13
  • For those who believe in Jesus, God has given them the “right to become children of God”. All who receive Him become children of God. Notice that this is a gift, not something that is earned. Salvation is not based either in part or in whole on works, but rather solely on the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8). People do not cause themselves to be born again; they are born of God and born because of His will, not merely human decision.
• Verse 14
  • The holy and infinite God chose to humble Himself and become a man to dwell among His creation (Philippians 2:5-8). This divine mystery (the incarnation) is profound - how is infinite divinity contained within in finite humanity? Obviously we will never know, but we can know this God-man Jesus personally. He is “full of grace and truth,” sent from the Father, showing His glory, and we have the awesome privilege of seeing Him!

SUPERIORITY of Jesus Christ:

• Verses 15,17
  • Jesus is superior to both John the baptizer and what he did and Moses the prophet and what was given through him. The people of God are baptized with more than just mere water (what John did), but also with “the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law (what God gave through Moses), and the initiator of a new covenant - one sealed in the shed blood of the Son (Matthew 5:17; Luke 22:20).
• Verse 16
  • Being in Christ means we are immensely blessed! (James 1:17-18) The gift of eternal life is vastly more than we deserve! What we have received has come from the “fullness of his grace”. May we always be eternally grateful for and satisfied in His finished saving work at the cross!
• Verse 18
  • Apart from Christ no one will see God. It is only those who are in Christ who see Him with eyes of faith. The hope of a Christian is unprecedented in this life; it is unlike any worldly experience, for its origin is of God. Pray today that He would give you a renewed hope; that He would be made more known to you; that He would open your eyes to new revelation in His Word each day. God wants to meet you in His Word, so you gotta read it! As you do, don’t forget the centrality of Christ in all of life, the supremacy of Christ over all things, and the superiority of Christ above all powers. Begin a journey through the life & ministry of Christ today and always be amazed at this central, supreme, and superior God you serve!!

To many of you, John 3:16 is well-known; you’ve heard it from a ton of sources while growing up. But do you really have a grasp of the true meaning of this passage and the context it’s in? By reading what Jesus says in the context surrounding this famous verse & some commentary, I hope you’ll get a better answer to this common question! Please give this Bible Study a read by clicking the link below, and then come back here & leave a comment on what you thought of the study!

Being “Born Again”

Sometimes in our lives God allows us to meet a really cool person that we just wanna spend a lot of time with! Maybe it’s a friend, a classmate, a co-worker, a potential spouse, or somebody else. Whoever it is, we are faced with choices of how much of our life to invest in theirs. I believe the best way to answer these choices is to pray and seek counsel on the matter. Perhaps this “allegory” I wrote last night might help you decide what you ought to do. Give it a read:

One day I was walking along the seashore and I came across a gemstone. I immediately stopped, gazed at it, and wondered what I was supposed to do. I knew I had three options:

1) I could leave the gemstone alone, walk away from it, and pretend like I never saw it;
2) I could pick up the gemstone, claim it as my own, take care of it, and treasure it; or
3) I could sit down beside the gemstone and encourage it to grow to become a better gem.

After pondering my options, I knew what was the right one. I chose the third choice, and made encouraging growth be my strategy in relation to this gem. This way the gem would be more beautiful to whoever would have the privilege of taking possession of it at a later point. How long was I to do this? I had no idea, and wouldn’t for a while, but I took satisfaction in knowing that I had made the correct choice for the time being. Perhaps I would change my strategy at a later day, but for the moment I chose to do what I knew to be right, all the while knowing that I would be blessed for my obedience in doing what was right. So I have made it my aim to this very day to always do what is right in relation to this gorgeous gem.

Now please don’t analyze my short story too much; there are probably flaws in my logical reasoning. But, don’t miss the point of it. The “gemstone” or “gem” in this story represents this person you’ve met. When we come across this special somebody (whoever they are), we are faced with a decision similar to that of this story. While I have a personal application of this story (hence why in it I chose option #3), it may be best for your particular situation to choose one of the other options. So, let’s take a look at the three options proposed above and some practical implications & applications.

Option #1: “I could leave the gemstone alone, walk away from it, and pretend like I never saw it”
If you choose this option, you are basically choosing to remove yourself from a certain number of situations in which you would interact with this person you’ve gotten to know. Perhaps this is the correct response for you; maybe it’s because you realize that you’ve allowed this person to become a distraction to you or you’ve become a distraction to them, and it’d be best for both of you to abstain from interacting for a while or possibly longer. The latter part of this option (”and pretend like I never saw it”) is probably not the best option for anyone as it seems very ungodly. Ignoring a person is not the main point of this option, but cutting back is. If you’ve found that you and this person have spent an exorbitant amount of time together, then cutting back is probably the best option. Again, this doesn’t mean that you ignore or avoid them, it just means you are seeking a proper balance of time spent together.

Option #2: “I could pick up the gemstone, claim it as my own, take care of it, and treasure it“
Choosing this option would mean that you believe you ought to spend more time with this person. Perhaps you really feel like the interactions with this person really benefit both them and yourself. So, spending more time with them should not be harmful, but encouraging and profitable for both of you. As you do this, make sure you act in ways that are caring and showing that you treasure them.

This option has special implications if your situation is involving a potential spouse. Choosing this option for your circumstance would be equilavent to beginning a courting/dating relationship, or if you’re already in one, making firm plans for marriage (a.k.a. getting engaged). If you’re the man, then choosing this option would essentially mean you are “taking the girl on” or getting ready to provide for her in the full sense of the word. Obviously, this is a very serious step. And it’s one that I would suggest not taking if the only thing you’ve done is pray. Not to downplay prayer, becuase it truly is crucial, but you need to also seek a plethora of counsel from a variety of people (parents, other family members, pastor, mentors, friends, etc.). Make sure you listen to those who truly are wise in the Lord; they can be of immeasurable benefit to you!

Option #3: “I could sit down beside the gemstone and encourage it to grow to become a better gem“
If you choose this option, your major intent in doing so is to be selfless. You want what’s best for that person (This isn’t to say that by choosing the other options you are being selfish and don’t want the best for the other person). And you realize that you may not be the best friend, classmate, potential spouse, etc. for that person. But really that doesn’t matter to you whether that’s true or not. You just want this person to be benefited from all interactions with you. In other words, your intent on befriending them and spending time with them is to build them up and encourage them. This is your guiding principle behind all that you do and say in relation to them.

With regard to this special person being a potential spouse, this option turns the focus off of romance and on to friendship. Your sole intent with this sweet friend of yours is to encourage them to grow in the Lord. As in the story above, by doing this you realize that this person “would be more beautiful to whoever would have the privilege of taking possession of [him/her] at a later point“ (by “taking possesion of” I mean beginning a romantic relationship or marriage). Whether or not you end up marrying this person doesn’t matter to you right now, you just want to be the best and most godly influence in their life that you can be. Nothing matters to you except their growth in Christ. This is selfless and an act of worship to God! May you be able to say the following to this person (and mean it!):

“My biggest hope, when it comes to myself in relation to you, is that I would only be an encouragement. My prayer is that I can be a positive influence on you. If I can help you in any way (whether it be encouragement, instruction, or other appropriate means) between your present state of singleness and a possible future state of matrimony, then I will be most glad! I desire to be someone who is not concerned with who your future spouse is, but rather a selfless servant who is concerned with your overall well-being in Christ.”

Indeed, may you be able to say that and live by it! It will probably be hard to follow these sort of principles, but obedience to them is worth it and is worship to God our Father!

Conclusion
Hopefully as you’ve read my thoughts on each of these three options you’ve had some ideas of your own come into your mind. That’s good. I pray God may use my words here to spark within you some good ideas as to how He wants you to address your specific situation. Always remember to pray earnestly about it and seek the godly counsel of many others! May God bless you in your efforts of seeking how to live obediently to Him in this relationship you have with this other person. God made us to be relational, so let us embrace this characteristic with utmost reverance for Him and proper respect for others!

I sincerly welcome any comments you might have on this post or whatever else related to this topic. Please feel free to leave your thoughts!! In fact, I’d really like it if you did