Emotional abuse systematically degrades, diminishes, and can eventually destroy the personhood of the abused......
This behavior is usually accompanied by a lack of awareness, a lack of responsibility, and a lack of change.
Examples that resonate with me:
I can't be his wife and me at the same time. It's either one or the other. In order to stay married to him, I have to stop being me.
Every ounce of mental and emotional energy I have is needed to survive living in this marriage. He's so harsh and negative everyone and everything I fee like I can't breathe.
I don't feel safe.
It's always about him, how he feels, what he needs, how he's hurt. There is never any consideration for my feelings, my needs, or my hurts. I exist solely to please him, serve him, and make him happy.
I'm tired of being his mother. He takes no responsibility for anything but constantly blames and criticizes me for everything that goes wrong. Nothing is ever his fault.
I feel like i'm treading water, barely keeping afloat, and he keeps knocking me under. Someday I won't be able to come back up.
I don't know how to live anymore. It's either divorce or suicide.
Other times you can't put what's happening into words, but you know something's not right because when you're around your husband, your body feels it. Your stomach hurts, your teeth grind, your hands clench, your jaw tightens, your head pounds, your legs shake, and your blood pressure rises. You cry, you can't catch your breath, and you throw up.
You're body is telling you something's wrong. Pay attention.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
The Emotionally Destructive Marriage-Introduction
We've misdiagnosed a marriage that has terminal cancer and treated as if it were only suffering from a common cold. We've also misplaced the responsibility for keeping the marriage alive by putting an extraordinarily heavy burden on a wife's shoulders to somehow maintain a loving and warm relationship with a husband who treats her with cruelty, disrespect, deceit, and gross indifference. it's not feasible, nor is it biblical.
Marriage and family are important to God,but just as important to him are the individuals within those marriages and families. God does not value men more than women, or the institution of marriage more than the people who are in it.
Marriage and family are important to God,but just as important to him are the individuals within those marriages and families. God does not value men more than women, or the institution of marriage more than the people who are in it.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Loving Well Chapter 7: Pursuing Love: Shepherding Each Other
p.101 One formerly lost sheep diligently pursuing another because he knew something about straying sheep: they need to be pursued.
God's call to shepherds:
p.105 It's also a troubling passage Who can consistently love this way? Weak, sick, and straying people are not nice to be around. They refuse to help themselves. They misread your motives, they resist your attempts to help, and they run away. Who can keep giving them the kind of help they need? You can't and I can't.
God shepherds you first:
p.106 He did. As you continue reading the passage, you realize that no human shepherd can ever provide what God longs for his people to experience. but he cares too much for his people to leave them without a shepherd so he planned to become the supreme shepherd who was and is exactly what his people need.
p..108 You will fail as an under-shepherd. But when you fail, remember that you have a shepherd too. He pursues you so you can again take the responsibility he calls you to. And when you have experienced his shepherding, you become more like the kind of shepherd he is. You seek out those who are straying in order to bring them back.
God's call to shepherds:
p.105 It's also a troubling passage Who can consistently love this way? Weak, sick, and straying people are not nice to be around. They refuse to help themselves. They misread your motives, they resist your attempts to help, and they run away. Who can keep giving them the kind of help they need? You can't and I can't.
God shepherds you first:
p.106 He did. As you continue reading the passage, you realize that no human shepherd can ever provide what God longs for his people to experience. but he cares too much for his people to leave them without a shepherd so he planned to become the supreme shepherd who was and is exactly what his people need.
p..108 You will fail as an under-shepherd. But when you fail, remember that you have a shepherd too. He pursues you so you can again take the responsibility he calls you to. And when you have experienced his shepherding, you become more like the kind of shepherd he is. You seek out those who are straying in order to bring them back.
Loving Well, chapter 6 Partnering Love: Working Together to Care for Each Other
p.89 Your involvement in the lives of your closest relationships was never meant to be built on a mutual like or dislike It's not supposed to be built on your favorite hobbies, restaurants, department stores, or stage of life. Instead, the nature of your vertical alliance with Jesus is the single most important determining factor for all of your horizontal friendships.
Learning to value people I don't like p.93
If you struggle to love someone, or even like her, start by asking "What does Jesus enjoy about this person? What traits, strengths, and qualities did he put in her? Keep going. If she's one of his friends then focus on her love for Jesus.
Learning to value people I don't like p.93
If you struggle to love someone, or even like her, start by asking "What does Jesus enjoy about this person? What traits, strengths, and qualities did he put in her? Keep going. If she's one of his friends then focus on her love for Jesus.
Loving Well, Chapter 5 Longsuffering Love: Patiently Bearing with Each Other
p. 75 "I love you; therefore, I mold myself around your weaknesses so that you grow strong enough for the things God has called and gifted you to do." LOVE THIS!
Communion Reminds You of God's Patience:
When I take the Communion elements, I announce to myself, to those around me, and to my Lord that I am a mess. I also announce that I didn't get over being a mess simply because Jesus rescued me.. I won't ever get over my need for his death and resurrection. I won't get past it. I won't outgrow it. That's why we repeat Communion so frequently.
Sharing in Communion is one of the most authentic, honest activities you can participate in. When you remember Christ's death, you remember and re-proclaim your own weaknesses, failures, and moral inadequacies. You proclaim that you just cannot do it on your own. That you don't need a jump start for a dead battery-you need an entirely new engine block. The days I'm surprised at how big a mess I am are the days I've forgotten the faith I say I believe. SO GOOD!!!!
p.80 Impatience blossoms when someTHING becomes more important than someONE.
Communion Reminds You of God's Patience:
When I take the Communion elements, I announce to myself, to those around me, and to my Lord that I am a mess. I also announce that I didn't get over being a mess simply because Jesus rescued me.. I won't ever get over my need for his death and resurrection. I won't get past it. I won't outgrow it. That's why we repeat Communion so frequently.
Sharing in Communion is one of the most authentic, honest activities you can participate in. When you remember Christ's death, you remember and re-proclaim your own weaknesses, failures, and moral inadequacies. You proclaim that you just cannot do it on your own. That you don't need a jump start for a dead battery-you need an entirely new engine block. The days I'm surprised at how big a mess I am are the days I've forgotten the faith I say I believe. SO GOOD!!!!
p.80 Impatience blossoms when someTHING becomes more important than someONE.
Loving Well.. Chapter 3: Struggling Love:Confessing our Temptations to Each Other
p.43 Too many people fear that after someone opens up his life, their responsibility is to rush in and somehow give answers or solutions to what the other person faces. And so we shoot from the hip, 'okay, thanks for sharing that with me. Now here is what you need to think..here is what you need to believe...here is what you need to do...
SUCH RESPONSES CRUSH OPENNESS.
p.45That means when your friend opens up her life to you, first respond by simply appreciating her openness as an invitation to share your lives together.. You say, "Thank you for trusting me with that I appreciate you being vulnerable. I'm glad to get to know you a little more deeply" This affirms that her openness has not chased you away, but that you are moving toward her while she is moving toward you.
Thirdly, make sure at some point to ask, 'where is Jesus involved?' Ask this even if you're not sure what the answer is. Sometimes I have to add, "I don't know where he is, but I do know that we need to look for him. What do you think he is doing? By asking the question, your're helping her think about where the next steps are on her journey with the Lord through life.
SUCH RESPONSES CRUSH OPENNESS.
p.45That means when your friend opens up her life to you, first respond by simply appreciating her openness as an invitation to share your lives together.. You say, "Thank you for trusting me with that I appreciate you being vulnerable. I'm glad to get to know you a little more deeply" This affirms that her openness has not chased you away, but that you are moving toward her while she is moving toward you.
Thirdly, make sure at some point to ask, 'where is Jesus involved?' Ask this even if you're not sure what the answer is. Sometimes I have to add, "I don't know where he is, but I do know that we need to look for him. What do you think he is doing? By asking the question, your're helping her think about where the next steps are on her journey with the Lord through life.
Loving Well, William P Smith Chapter 2
Sympathetic Love: Taking on Each Other's Sorrows
you sympathize with them.
Jesus: He is not hardened to your distress. p.21
p.22 Our friends need to see our tears over the broken parts of their lives. Part of love is letting them know that their pain matters deeply to us.
I wrestle with trying to find a way to express how dark an devil it is to ignore people's hurt when they're grieving. Let me if this picture helps. (ex.of a friend who lost a wife in a horrible car accident and a counselor walks in all bubbly and cheerful.
p. 23 She could not have communicated more clearly that she had no idea the depth of what he'd been through and was continuing to live out.
God is not like that. Nor can you be. Ignoring pain or changing the subject is neither helpful nor kind.
The longer you study how God has reacted to you in your own pain, the fewer times you will be calloused or indifferent to someone else's pain.
p.25 Real sympathy means to feel what they feel..
p.27 Jesus, our Truest Sympathizer
And he understands firsthand how you are tempted to lash out, self-medicate, run away, manufacture your own diversions, or simply give up, hoping to be left alone. He was tempted in every way.
Just Listen:
One of the easiest ways t0 sympathize is to simply listen to the people around you. This doesn't always feel productive or even practical. Can just sitting with someone and hearing her story be of any benefit? Ask anyone who has suffered, and he'll tell you yes!
SO SO SO SO GOOD!!!
p.29 Here's the lie I think many of us believe: when someone is sad or grieving, I have to say something wise that will be really helpful (SO TRUE--emphasis mine!)......Inviting the other person to tell her or her story is huge, and many times it's one of the few things you can offer.
you sympathize with them.
Jesus: He is not hardened to your distress. p.21
p.22 Our friends need to see our tears over the broken parts of their lives. Part of love is letting them know that their pain matters deeply to us.
I wrestle with trying to find a way to express how dark an devil it is to ignore people's hurt when they're grieving. Let me if this picture helps. (ex.of a friend who lost a wife in a horrible car accident and a counselor walks in all bubbly and cheerful.
p. 23 She could not have communicated more clearly that she had no idea the depth of what he'd been through and was continuing to live out.
God is not like that. Nor can you be. Ignoring pain or changing the subject is neither helpful nor kind.
The longer you study how God has reacted to you in your own pain, the fewer times you will be calloused or indifferent to someone else's pain.
p.25 Real sympathy means to feel what they feel..
p.27 Jesus, our Truest Sympathizer
And he understands firsthand how you are tempted to lash out, self-medicate, run away, manufacture your own diversions, or simply give up, hoping to be left alone. He was tempted in every way.
Just Listen:
One of the easiest ways t0 sympathize is to simply listen to the people around you. This doesn't always feel productive or even practical. Can just sitting with someone and hearing her story be of any benefit? Ask anyone who has suffered, and he'll tell you yes!
SO SO SO SO GOOD!!!
p.29 Here's the lie I think many of us believe: when someone is sad or grieving, I have to say something wise that will be really helpful (SO TRUE--emphasis mine!)......Inviting the other person to tell her or her story is huge, and many times it's one of the few things you can offer.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
One Year Book of Hope Week 17. Gifts of God
Christ Relieves My Inadequacy
"For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it" Romans 3:20
We can be overwhelmed with our own in adequacy and in a state of constant frustrations, or we can call on Jesus to fulfill for us what his righteous law demands...
Love fulfills what the law demands, and we forever benefit.
God Exacts Vengeance, So I Need Not Seek Revenge
1 Peter 2:23
The most innocent man who ever lived suffered the most outrageous injustice ever inflicted, and yet he refused to carry the burden of revenge, turning it over to God because he knew God would settle it in a just way.
"For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it" Romans 3:20
We can be overwhelmed with our own in adequacy and in a state of constant frustrations, or we can call on Jesus to fulfill for us what his righteous law demands...
Love fulfills what the law demands, and we forever benefit.
God Exacts Vengeance, So I Need Not Seek Revenge
1 Peter 2:23
The most innocent man who ever lived suffered the most outrageous injustice ever inflicted, and yet he refused to carry the burden of revenge, turning it over to God because he knew God would settle it in a just way.
One Year Book of Hope. week 16 God's Name
Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will Provide
At the lowest moment in his life, Abraham listened for God and looked up to see God at work.
Jehovah M'Kaddesh: The Lord Who Sanctifies
God does want you to be happy, but he knows that your greatest happiness is found as you pursue holiness. He wants to BE your happiness, and he wants you to be holy....
"May the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this" 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord My Peace
Peace is not a feeling or a possession but a person. Jesus will invade your hopelessness and distress and reveal himself as Peace.
At the lowest moment in his life, Abraham listened for God and looked up to see God at work.
Jehovah M'Kaddesh: The Lord Who Sanctifies
God does want you to be happy, but he knows that your greatest happiness is found as you pursue holiness. He wants to BE your happiness, and he wants you to be holy....
"May the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this" 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord My Peace
Peace is not a feeling or a possession but a person. Jesus will invade your hopelessness and distress and reveal himself as Peace.
One Year Book of Hope. week 15 Knowing God
God Is Just
Should not the judge of all the earth do what is right? Genesis 18:25
Justice is the righteous way God governs every part of the universe....
We can be confident that when destiny-defining decisions are made, the Judge of all the earth will do what is right.
God is Holy
If we are going to grow up in God, it is time we learn that God's passion for his holiness is the supreme force and focus in the universe.....
When we allow ourselves to be consumed by a passion for God's holiness, other passions lose their power over us. Struggles with sexual temptation lose their allure; deep-rooted bitterness, paralyzing fear, and insignificant obsessions case to be the focus of our energy. See him for who he is-altogether holy-and usher him to the throne of your life.
One Year Book of Hope. week 14 The Presence of God
p.105 God's very presence is his greatest gift to us. And yet I think it is a gift that most of us have never fully unwrapped.
Walking with God P. 107
There's a big difference between walking with God and merely living.
Walking with God P. 107
There's a big difference between walking with God and merely living.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
One Year Book of Hope Week 13. Healer of My Soul
Jesus, Our Compassionate Healer
The Lord Who Heals
Healing is not an activity God may choose to do or choose not to do. Healing is who he is; it is his very nature, reflected in his name.
Some use Scripture to say that God has promised to heal your body if you pray a certain way or with a certain person. But God has not promised you a long life in this body on this earth. he has promised you a perfect body in a perfect place for an eternity. Would you be willing to stop holding on to this life with such vigor so you can open your hands and heart to welcome the ultimate healing God has promised you?
What Are Your Miracles All About?
If we want to understand the nature and purpose of the miracles Jesus performed, we have to hear Jesus'implied message: "I am the one you've been waiting for. I am the one who was promised long ago. I AM."
If it Be your Will
It was hard for us that some people saw our reluctance to pray in this way as a lack of faith. But it had nothing to do with whether or not God had the power to heal Hope. We firmly believe that God can do anything. For us, it was more a matter of asking ourselves if this was the way we have seen God work. And more important, was it what he had planned for Hope? Did God have in mind for her a short but meaningful life, and would we be open to that as his best>?
Often I see the body of Christ put so much into pursuing God for physical healing. With great boldness and passion and persistence, we cry out to God, begging for healing of the body. And in these prayers, there is often a tiny P.S. added at the end where we say, 'If it be your will." But shouldn't we switch that around? Shouldn't we cry out to God with boldness and passion and persistence in a prayer that says, "God, would you please accomplish Your will? Would you give me a willing heart to embrace YOUR plan and YOUR purpose? Would you mold me into an instrument that you can use to accomplish what you have in mind? And then, perhaps, we could add a tiny P.S. that says, "If that includes healing, we will be grateful."
The Lord Who Heals
Healing is not an activity God may choose to do or choose not to do. Healing is who he is; it is his very nature, reflected in his name.
Some use Scripture to say that God has promised to heal your body if you pray a certain way or with a certain person. But God has not promised you a long life in this body on this earth. he has promised you a perfect body in a perfect place for an eternity. Would you be willing to stop holding on to this life with such vigor so you can open your hands and heart to welcome the ultimate healing God has promised you?
What Are Your Miracles All About?
If we want to understand the nature and purpose of the miracles Jesus performed, we have to hear Jesus'implied message: "I am the one you've been waiting for. I am the one who was promised long ago. I AM."
If it Be your Will
It was hard for us that some people saw our reluctance to pray in this way as a lack of faith. But it had nothing to do with whether or not God had the power to heal Hope. We firmly believe that God can do anything. For us, it was more a matter of asking ourselves if this was the way we have seen God work. And more important, was it what he had planned for Hope? Did God have in mind for her a short but meaningful life, and would we be open to that as his best>?
Often I see the body of Christ put so much into pursuing God for physical healing. With great boldness and passion and persistence, we cry out to God, begging for healing of the body. And in these prayers, there is often a tiny P.S. added at the end where we say, 'If it be your will." But shouldn't we switch that around? Shouldn't we cry out to God with boldness and passion and persistence in a prayer that says, "God, would you please accomplish Your will? Would you give me a willing heart to embrace YOUR plan and YOUR purpose? Would you mold me into an instrument that you can use to accomplish what you have in mind? And then, perhaps, we could add a tiny P.S. that says, "If that includes healing, we will be grateful."
One year Book of Hope week 11 Protected By God
Keep You From Stumbling p.84
If you are in Christ, you are as likely to stumble and fall away as Christ is.
Protection From Your Enemies
In our self-centered worlds, we are much more concerned about having god on our side to protect our own interests and reputation than we are about being on God's side, seeking after his glory and ultimate victory.
If you are in Christ, you are as likely to stumble and fall away as Christ is.
Protection From Your Enemies
In our self-centered worlds, we are much more concerned about having god on our side to protect our own interests and reputation than we are about being on God's side, seeking after his glory and ultimate victory.
One Year Book of Hope Week 10. Sovereignty of God
Though God's sovereignty can be hard to accept, it is also a soft place to land. Without confidence in God's sovereign oversight of the universe, life becomes meaningless, hope for justice faces, and everything seems random. The truth is, if God is not sovereign, we're in trouble. The sovereignty of God is a rock underfoot when the winds blow in our lives. It confronts what seems absurd in our existence. God's sovereignty is our greatest hope as we face an uncertain and unknown future.
The One year Book of Hope. Week 9 The Love of God
While some chapters will be more difficult than others, visible in every scene, on every page, is the love of God.
Nothing Can Separate Us From Christ's Love p.67
What does it feel like to be loved by God? It is not a sentimental feeling. Nor is it circumstantial. Being loved by God is the deep certainty that the God of the universe is not opposed to me, though I deserve it; he is for me! it is an inner confidence in his loving intentions that gives us the security and strength we need for enduring the difficulties of this life.
Focus on his loving provision for your eternal future, nurturing your confidence to say with Paul, For I AM CONVINCED that neither....etc.
Lord, The One You Love is Very Sick p. 70
Our suffering become the soil in which our doubts about God's love begin to grow.
Lord, I want to see everything in my life through the lens of your love in quiet confidence that you are working everything for my good and your glory.
One Year Book of Hope. Week 7 LIFE
Acts 17:28
Every life is valuable because God himself gives life and breath to everything. He is not only the source of life; he is also the source of satisfaction and meaning in life. "In him we live and move and exist."
Losing Your Life p. 52
Jesus calls us to abandon our own agendas, what we have deemed will please and fulfill us, so that we can embrace the kind and quality of life that only He gives. this is not about adding Jesus to the life we are living. This is about making Jesus our life. This is about putting our plans for our lives to death so that the abundant life he offers has room to take root and grow. And death is always painful. This is not an extreme brand of discipleship only for go-getters. This is the call for everyone who chooses to be a follower of Jesus. The problem is, we don't really believe that God's plan for our lives could be better than the one we've planned. it takes a step of faith to believe God will supply satisfying life now and when we die.
Every life is valuable because God himself gives life and breath to everything. He is not only the source of life; he is also the source of satisfaction and meaning in life. "In him we live and move and exist."
Losing Your Life p. 52
Jesus calls us to abandon our own agendas, what we have deemed will please and fulfill us, so that we can embrace the kind and quality of life that only He gives. this is not about adding Jesus to the life we are living. This is about making Jesus our life. This is about putting our plans for our lives to death so that the abundant life he offers has room to take root and grow. And death is always painful. This is not an extreme brand of discipleship only for go-getters. This is the call for everyone who chooses to be a follower of Jesus. The problem is, we don't really believe that God's plan for our lives could be better than the one we've planned. it takes a step of faith to believe God will supply satisfying life now and when we die.
One Year Book of Hope. Week 6
Why?
Living in A Broken World p. 43
Romans 8:20-21
Against it's will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Suffering As Satan's Tool p.44
That is certainly what satan wants to do with the tool of suffering in your life. He wants to hammer away at your thoughts of the goodness of God and replace them with dark thoughts about God. he wants to chisel away at your confidence in the character of God and cause you to question his authority in your life.
Living in A Broken World p. 43
Romans 8:20-21
Against it's will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Suffering As Satan's Tool p.44
That is certainly what satan wants to do with the tool of suffering in your life. He wants to hammer away at your thoughts of the goodness of God and replace them with dark thoughts about God. he wants to chisel away at your confidence in the character of God and cause you to question his authority in your life.
Friday, November 30, 2012
One Year Book of Hope..week 5
Sufferers
My Grace Is All You Need
Because I choose to believe God's Word and because I have experienced it in my own life, I thoroughly believe that the grace God provides is all you need-it is enough-for whatever you face. It will be delivered to you in the form and quantity and timing your circumstances require. It is enough to enable you to endure rejection and betrayal without becoming bitter. It is enough to generate joy in the midst of great sorrow. it is enough to help you endure the loneliness of your bed and the reminders of loss everywhere you turn. It is enough to enable you to continue believing that God is good and he loves you.
The grace God provides to you is enough for whatever suffering he allows into your life, not just enough to survive but enough to equip you to emerge from your suffering with faith intact and hope for the future. What God said to Paul he also says to you: "My gracious favor is all you need" today and for everything you will face in the days to come.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
One Year Book of Hope week 4
Holy Spirit, Comforter
Spirit-filled, Spirit-Controlled
The key questions is not, "how do I get more of the Holy Spirit?" If you have placed your faith in Christ to save you, you already have the fullness of the holy Spirit inside of you. The question is, Are you willing to give him more of you? Perhaps he is inside you but you've kept him confined, refusing to give him full room and reign to change your attitudes, alter your perspective, order your steps. Are you willing to move your demanding ego and consuming desires out so that he can become the central force and sweetest desire in your life? Are you willing to see your agenda and appetites diminish so he can accomplish his purposes?
No Words
I want to pray. I want to pray in harmony with God's will. But sometimes I just don't seem to have the will to pray, nor do I know how to pray. What a relief to know that the Holy Spirit helps me in myh weakness and confusion. When we are weak-willed and weak-minded, when distress has consumed our energy and emotions, the Holy Spirit helps us. .... He prays for us with deep devotion and perfect articulation when we have no words--only tears and questions.
Deuteronomy 29:29 Acts 2:22-24, Romans 11:33-34, 1 Corinthians 2:9....excellent scriptures on God's ways being a mystery to us.
Spirit-filled, Spirit-Controlled
The key questions is not, "how do I get more of the Holy Spirit?" If you have placed your faith in Christ to save you, you already have the fullness of the holy Spirit inside of you. The question is, Are you willing to give him more of you? Perhaps he is inside you but you've kept him confined, refusing to give him full room and reign to change your attitudes, alter your perspective, order your steps. Are you willing to move your demanding ego and consuming desires out so that he can become the central force and sweetest desire in your life? Are you willing to see your agenda and appetites diminish so he can accomplish his purposes?
No Words
I want to pray. I want to pray in harmony with God's will. But sometimes I just don't seem to have the will to pray, nor do I know how to pray. What a relief to know that the Holy Spirit helps me in myh weakness and confusion. When we are weak-willed and weak-minded, when distress has consumed our energy and emotions, the Holy Spirit helps us. .... He prays for us with deep devotion and perfect articulation when we have no words--only tears and questions.
Deuteronomy 29:29 Acts 2:22-24, Romans 11:33-34, 1 Corinthians 2:9....excellent scriptures on God's ways being a mystery to us.
One Year Book of Hope. Week 3
The Father Heart of God
A Father's Joy p.19 But he had no opportunity to give the speech because his father was so eager to forgive.
A Father Gives Good Gifts
If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matthew 7:11
We know he's our heavenly Father and desires to give good gifts to those who ask him. The problem is, because we are so limited in our understanding, we don't always know what is good.
But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering. Romans 8:15-17
A Loving Father Disciplines His Child
Should we not all the more CHEERFULLY submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever? Hebrews 12:9
A Father's Joy p.19 But he had no opportunity to give the speech because his father was so eager to forgive.
A Father Gives Good Gifts
If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matthew 7:11
We know he's our heavenly Father and desires to give good gifts to those who ask him. The problem is, because we are so limited in our understanding, we don't always know what is good.
But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering. Romans 8:15-17
A Loving Father Disciplines His Child
Should we not all the more CHEERFULLY submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever? Hebrews 12:9
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