FRIENDSHIP
Friendship - what does it mean? A friend means different things to people of various culture, customs and generations. My idea of a friend may be totally different from yours, and this appears to be constantly changing with every generation, but every friendship should have some basic characteristics.
F - ELLOWSHIP
R - EFRESHING
I - NTUITIVE
E - MPATHETIC
N - URTURING
D - EPENDABLE
S - TABLE
H - ONEST
I - NTIMATE
P - ERSEVERING
The degree of any friendship varies and changes with time - there are many boundaries within the framework of friendship, as it exists within every segment of our society and relationship, but for any friendship to last through the ages of time, it must be able to overcome the obstacles as we travel down the pathway of life. This is true for any subsequent relationship.
Recycling and relationship
What has recycling got to do with relationships? An immediate response would be - absolutely nothing! But there are many parallels that are impossible to ignore. Many products can be recycled, some can be recycled indefinitely with some loss of quality, others can only be recycled for a number of times, and there are some products that can never be recycled.
The end product for a recycled material is never the same as the original product, but the overall quality may be the same. However, there are some recycled products that can be just as valuable as the original product, but never ever resemble the original. These are somewhat paradoxical and confusing thoughts, but this is where the similarities between recycling and relationship exist.
Our lives should never be like recycled products, as it will result in recycled relationships. We are all constantly going through changes according to the choices that we make, and according to the circumstances around us. If we do not allow the master potter to pattern our lives according to His original design, we have to go through the furnace many times and back to the potter's wheel, not because the potter made a mistake with His original design, but because of the choices that we make in our daily lives.
You see, unlike recycled products, which are changed by the thoughts and desires of those who are in control, we are never forced to change by the master potter, but we are allowed to go through different relationships - some good and bad, until we turn to the master potter in our time of need and cry out, "Change me O Lord, according to your design." Only then can we fully enjoy true relationship with God and those around us. Unfortunately, some of us go through the same problems over and over again; we go around the same circle many times, as we make the same wrong choices - according to our desires and not according to the design of the master potter.
We try to build relationships without God – such relationships can and do exist, and can be very fruitful and productive, but how much greater they can be with the presence of God. One of the greatest similarities between a recycled product and relationships is this - any product that goes through a recycling process, has to be broken down, impurities removed and only the materials that are necessary for the new product is kept. Although we do not recognize it, this is the process that we all go through with or without God.
Relationships cannot be recycled without healing; otherwise we will continue on the same self destructive path and end up with the same problems over and over again. Many of us are very conscientious when it comes to recycling, as we are very concerned for the environment, but we are not so conscientious when it comes to relationships – we fail to see the destruction that unholy, ungodly and immoral relationships have on our environment. It decays the moral fibre of our society. Some of us are not always conscious to recycle; we tend to discard a lot of things that can be recycled without giving it a second thought, as it is so easy to purchase something new or to obtain another product. Unfortunately, this is how some relationships are viewed as well, and we can have the mentality, “If it does not work out, I will try another.”
Many relationships go through a recycling process, but not usually with the same person, this result in fragmentation of that person if healing does not take place. The final comparison is between a recycled product that is completely different from the original product, and the person, who after many different relationships and experiences, realize that they have been doing things their own way for so long and it is not working out, they realize that they cannot change themselves or the other person, they realize that they are in bondage to shame, guilt and a immoral lifestyle – they feel incapable to change and the future does not look great and in their time of need, they cry out to God for help and asks Him to change them.
God hears the cry of our heart and lips and enables us to change, He washes us with the blood of Jesus and cleanses us from our sins. We become a new creation in Christ Jesus and like a brand new product….what about you?
Destiny, free will, orpre-determination?
What is right or wrong with this concept?
You and I have a destiny - this does not imply that our life on earth has a pre-determined course that cannot be altered, and certainly does not imply that our final end is pre-determined by God. God has a destiny for each one of us, but it is still up to us to determine that destiny according to our dreams, desires, abilities and circumstances.
God had a destiny for Adam and Eve, He created them to live for eternity in the Garden of Eden, but it was conditional upon their obedience. Adam and Eve could have lived for eternity in the Garden of Eden - everything they needed existed in that garden, including the presence of God. But they chose to disobey the command, "Not to eat of the fruit in the middle of the garden," and this resulted in a different destiny than God had determined for them. This is the same for any one of us - we were created for a purpose, we have a destiny to fulfill, but so often many of us do not accomplish that which we were created to do. We make the wrong choices, which ultimately affects our destiny.
Destiny should not be controlled by circumstances, dreams and desires, but should be controlled and influenced by the Spirit of God as well, and only then can we fulfill our true destiny on earth and for eternity. Some of us may never achieve or fulfill our destiny on earth, and when we reach the end of that road, we may declare "That is not what I had hoped to accomplished, I was born for greater things, or..." But alas, we cannot go back and change all that we have done or hoped to achieve. It is now only left for us to determine our final destiny, to live with God or without Him. This is the question that should be in the forefront of our minds each day, as God has not pre-determined our final destiny.
This is our decision and choice to make - regardless if we have fulfilled our destiny on earth or not. "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD," Joshua 24:15.
Relationships - are they worth it?
God brings us in contact with people for seasons of time, some for very brief periods and others for longer periods. The book of Ecclesiastes so aptly declares that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the sun. However, you may ask the question, what is the purpose of relationships that do not last? Does it help us to fulfill our destiny on earth and for eternity? Or what benefit does it have in my life?
God created each one of us for a purpose; He imparts to us gifts and abilities that are necessary to fulfill that purpose. But those gifts and abilities have to be tempered and molded according to His design and not according to our plans. We have to become like clay on the wheel of a potter, and choose to allow God to fashion us according to His original design, or we can choose to use the gifts and abilities that He has imparted to us, according to the dictates of our minds.
Everyone that comes into our life is like the potter; if we allow them to be, or if we allow God to use them and us! It is all for our benefit. But you may now ask the question, what of those relationships that are seemingly destructive and produce death instead of life? This is where we have to choose, this is where we decide; to allow God to work in our lives to melt, mold and fashion us according to His design, or to allow God to work through our lives to be used like a potter in the life of another person.
It is all part of the process of life! This is the ultimate purpose of any relationship. Relationships can be either HOT and FRESH, or COLD and STALE, it is our choice! We can choose to allow hurt, pain and circumstances to keep us in bondage to the past, or we can choose to allow God’s forgiveness, grace, mercy and compassion; to bring healing and restoration into our life and the lives of others.
Every hot and fresh relationship will last and have the greatest chance of success, as these relationships are controlled and molded by the Spirit of God within us to do good, but every cold and stale relationship will fail, as these relationships are more controlled by our flesh and natural desires.
A HOT relationship is:
H - ONEST
O - PEN
T - RUTHFUL
I am sure this is not what you had a mind when you first read that relationships must be HOT, but this is the type of relationship that God had in mind when He created Adam and Eve, nothing separated them from one another and from Him.
A FRESH relationship is:
F - ORGIVING
R - ESPECTFUL
E - NCOURAGING
S - ELFLESS
H - ONORING
In today’s society, being FRESH conveys a totally different concept from the original intentions of the word. Fresh as in new, clean, wholesome, warm and refreshing; this was God’s original intention, for His creation to live in peace and harmony with each other. To put salve on the wounds and ointment to the scars!
A COLD relationship is:
C - LOSED
O - VERBEARING
L - YING
D - ECEPTIVE
I am sure this gives you a whole different concept of the word COLD; it separates us from God and from one another. This was Satan’s original design for us and it is the total antithesis of God’s design.
A STALE relationship is:
S - ELFISH
T - HOUGHTLESS
A - NGRY
L - USTFUL
E - MPTY
Any cold relationship will end up being STALE, and conveys the meaning of being boring, tired and gone off! But it also has the implications of causing our hearts to become worn-out and hard towards God’s love; which ultimately affects our purpose and destiny in life.
I will leave you with these questions:
What type of relationships do you want?
What type of relationships are you going to build?
Are you going to allow God to fashion and shape you according to His design? And are you going to allow God to use you as a potter in another person’s life?
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of some clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? Rom. 9:20-21.
"Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as it seemed best to him.Then the word of the Lord came to me; O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:2-10.
I LOVE YOU
“Hey mom,” shouted Billy. His mother screamed at him to stop shouting, and went to the room where Billy was playing. Billy just looked at his mom when she arrived into his room and said very quietly, “Mom, I love you.”
The mother looked at Billy and started to cry, she remembered when Billy was born just about 7 yrs. ago, and the doctors told her that it would be a miracle if he survived. Billy did survive and was now a healthy 7 yr. old boy. Billy just looked at her as if he had done something wrong - his mother went close to him and picked him up, she said, “Thank you Billy, I love you too.”
Three very simple words; so often left unspoken, so often misunderstood, so often used to get rather than to give. Many hearts cry out to hear these words spoken, many hearts long to speak these words, and yet many hearts cringe at the sound of these words, as they stimulate and arouse so many negative thoughts.If God was to come down into our midst today, He would certainly ask, “Why?”
God, who created the universe, created the first man and woman to live in the garden of Eden for eternity, but after they sinned, God banished them from the garden. However, before doing so, He demonstrated His love for them by clothing them with the skins from the animals. Ever since the beginning of time to the present day, God has continuously demonstrated His love towards mankind, by sending His son to be a ransom for us.
Yet many people still ask the question, “Does God really love me?” Or, “If God really loves me, why does all these bad things happen to me?” Or, “If God really loves the world, why is there so many calamities?” This is the view that many have of God, they lose sight of the big picture and equate pain, suffering, heartache and tribulation with God, and they fail to realize that there is another god (Satan) in this world.
A god who is against and who is the complete antithesis of love, and this is why there is so much pain, heartache, hurt and suffering in the world, as people focus on their own trials and tribulations instead of reaching out with compassion, kindness and love towards their fellow human beings.
I have certainly experienced all of the above, as I grew up knowing that a God existed, but I had no concept of this love until I became a Christian. It was a refreshing and releasing experience; to know that I didn’t have to do anything to deserve or earn God’s love, as He first loved me and gave His very life for me. Yet, when my body was afflicted with pain and suffering, hurt and heartache, I tended to ask the same questions – until after many years later, my heart had a tendency to become callous and insulated from the very thing that could set me free. Not from God’s love alone, but from the love of my fellow human beings – as God demonstrates His love for us not only through the signs and wonders of the world, but through those that we live with or come in contact with on a daily basis. But we have to open up our hearts to that other person, regardless of the hurt and pain of the past, and to allow the love of God to bring healing and restoration. But oh yes; we may also open up our hearts to further hurt and pain, as people may try once again to love us for their own gains.
It is for us to differentiate and ask God; is this from you? Or is this from the god of this world? But we should never lose hope as Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church so aptly summed it all up, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not loved, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains but have not loved, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not loved, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I Corinthians 13:1-8 (NIV).
INSPIRATIONAL MULTI MEDIA FROM VARIOUS SOURCES
1) The wise way, is a collection of paradoxical commandments and beautiful landscape backgrounds: TheWiseWay_lo.pps, http://powerpointparadise.com/The%20Wise%20Way_lo.pps
2) Life2.pps
3) Life is what? Pictures of dogs with words to challenge and motivate: LIFE_IS_WHAT.pps
4) Good to be friends, cartoon characters with words of wisdom on friendship: GOOD_TO_BE_FRIENDS.doc
5) Beginning today, scenes with nature, landscape, people, cartoons and words to start the new day afresh: BeginningToday(Jun05).pps
6) Sharing difficulties, pictures of birds and nature with words on sharing: Sharing_difficulties.ppt
7) Food for thought, pictures of flowers/plants and words to think about: Copy_of_Food_for_Thought_-_A_presentation_08-22-06[1].pps.pps
8) Collection of beautiful pictures with a song. zima.pps
9) AbsolutelyFantasticSlideshow.pps 10) How to be happy: Happy-life.pps
11) Our lives are like a building, let the MASTER BUILDER build: building_life_med.pps
12) Seasons of life: The_Pear_Tree.pps
13) How to live life to the fullest: guide_to_life_lo.pps
14) Evil is the absence of love, Faith is not a myth, God created everything: Does_evil_exits.pps Christmasblessings.pps
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