At least be useless

I wasn't the one who said it:

In the same way, you, when you have done all you were ordered to do, say: We are useless servants; we have only done what we were supposed to do. Luke 17.10

According to the Lord Jesus, the definition of useless is not someone who is idle or just sits around and does nothing all day. His take on it was that the useless person is the one who does only what he should have done — in other words, nothing extra, no more than what was expected of him.

Of course, the goal is to become a useful servant, someone who exceeds expectations. But we know such people are rare.

The problem is that there are too many people who need to improve a lot just to achieve "useless" status. That's because they don't do even what they are supposed to.

If you have no ambition to become a useful servant, then at least be useless. Less than that is to waste your existence.

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Thanksgiving minus the turkey

It's Thanksgiving — for those of you reading this in the U.S. — and I’d like to share something with you.

It’s easy to lose sight of what major holidays such as this are all about. It’s all big business and so the real message can get lost. So, if we take away the turkey, the mashed potatoes, the pumpkin pie, the Pilgrims at Plymouth story, and the Black Friday sales, what are we left with?

I think that sometimes in life, especially at “down” times, it’s very important for us to remember the things that are going right for us — instead of focusing on what is going wrong. We all have stuff in our lives that we’d rather not even think about. I’m no exception. We have battles, we have setbacks, and we have disappointments. 

But we also have a tendency to think too much about the things that are wrong and not enough about the ones that are right.

That’s where Thanksgiving comes in.

What if you stopped today to think about what you are grateful for? You may not realize that you have a lot more going for you than against you. I just need one verse to remind you of that:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

In other words, we have God on our side. How can we lose?

One more thing:

Do you want to feel better starting right now? Do you want to change the focus in your life from the bad to the good? Come on, take a few minutes now and write down your Grateful List — 10 things you’re grateful for today. Write it down, don’t just think about it.

It will only take you a few minutes but it will really brighten your day. (Maybe while your fingers are on the keyboard, would you care to add your list here?)

Happy Thanksgiving!

(And go easy on the calories.)

You call this "Sunday morning"

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this one...

The list

Let me let you in on a secret... One of the main things that my wife and I did years ago to change our marriage. But if you think this video is about marriage, you're making a mistake.




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Pills – The Perishers

I just had to share this song I found a couple of days ago. It reminded me of couples I counsel and the lives they live.

I love the song, and I hope you enjoy it too. But for real help, go here.

Idols in the heart

Another reason that hinders the answer to our prayers:

Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin. Why should I listen to their requests? Ezekiel 14.3 NLT

IDOLS IN THE HEART CAUSE GOD TO REFUSE TO LISTEN TO OUR PRAYERS.

What is an idol? An idol is anything that takes the place of God, anything that is the main focus of our affection, energy, and attention. God alone should occupy that place in our hearts. Everything and everyone else must be subordinate to Him.

A man’s wife can be his idol. Not that a man can love his wife too much, but he can put her in the wrong place; he can put her before God. When he gives her the first place and God the second place, his wife is an idol, and God cannot hear his prayers.

A woman’s children can be her idol. Not that we can love our children too much. The more we love God, the more we love our children. But we can put our children in the wrong place; we can put them before God, and their interests before God’s interests. When we do this our children are our idols.

A person’s reputation or business can be his or her idol. Reputation or business is put before God. God cannot hear the prayers of such person.

If we want to ask and receive something from God, one great question for us to decide is, Is God absolutely first? Is He before wife/husband, before children, before reputation, before business, before our own lives? If not, God will not be bothered by our requests. Why should He? Should God answer our requests even as we push Him to the side and give the best of ourselves to something or someone else? If He does, won’t He encourage us to continue serving our idols?

"They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin."

That’s what idols do to their worshippers — they make them stumble and fall badly on their faces. Is money your idol? Money will make you fall. Is your boyfriend your idol? He will end up breaking your heart. Is your education your idol? It will be a snare to you.

Money, relationship, education, children, and other potential idols are not bad things in themselves. But it’s a bad thing when a good thing is put in the wrong place.

Let us give God the place He deserves in our hearts and kick all idols out. Then we shall know the power of answered prayer.

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Why do my prayers go unanswered?

There are some things that hinder the answer to our prayers.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4.3

When you ask selfishly, you’re not using the Power of Asking correctly. Many prayers are selfish. You may ask for good things, for things that are the will of God to give, but the motive of the prayer be entirely wrong. And so the prayer falls powerless to the ground. The true purpose in prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer. If we ask for something just so we may use in our pleasures or in our own gratification, we “ask amiss” and should not expect to receive what we ask. This explains why many prayers remain unanswered.

For example, a woman prays for the conversion of her husband. That certainly is an excellent thing to ask; but some wives have a selfish motive in that prayer. She wants her husband to be converted because then he would be a much more pleasant husband to live with. The prayer is purely selfish. Why should a woman desire the conversion of her husband? First and above all, that God may be glorified; because she cannot bear the thought that he is not honoring God with his life, and so his soul is being wasted in service to the world and the devil.

Many pastors pray for crowds to come to their church. That certainly is a good thing to ask, and in line with God’s will. But sometimes such prayers are purely selfish. If the desire is that the membership may be increased, that his church may enjoy prominence in society, that the church may have more offerings, or that he may impress his church leaders, then he should not expect God to answer that prayer. Why should we pray for people to come to the church? For the glory of God, because we cannot bear the thought of millions of souls being lost; because God’s Word is being made void by unbelief of people in the world. That should be the motive of our asking.

Many who pray for the Holy Spirit are also praying selfishly. They pray for the Holy Spirit so that they may be happy, or so that they may escape the state of defeat in their lives, or that they may have power as Christian workers, or some other purely selfish motive. Why should we pray for the Holy Spirit? So that God may no longer be dishonored by the low level of our Christian lives; that God may be seen by everyone who looks at us; that our service to Him may be effective.

So before you ask God for something, ask yourself: What will God get from answering my prayer? What’s in it for Him? Then adjust your motives accordingly.

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