relationships

Fathers Day

For those of us who are Fathers our future is described in these three  statements -

Our future is above us, – it’s in God and found by looking up

Our future is around us, – it’s in the people around us now, – upto 90% of it in fact

Our future is also behind us, – in the next generation – our sons and daughters

For that next generation – what is our role?

Seven things I can think of that we need do for the next generation -

1/ Fathers Validate

2/ Fathers Inspire

3/ Fathers give Wisdom

4/ Fathers give Direction

5/ Fathers give Strenght

6/ Fathers Applaud

7/ Fathers know the Times and Seasons

1 Corinthians 4:15-17 (NIV)
15 Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
17 For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

: Men's Ministries,relationships
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What’s Your Life Centred On?

One of the biggest hinderences to success is not knowing what the main thing is, and what is really important.

Steve Jobs the founder and CEO of Apple is reported to have said recently, -” lots of companys have lots of smart engineers and great people but ultimately there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together otherwise you can get great pieces of technology all floating around the universe but it doesn’t add up to much, there are interesting bits and pieces of things floating around but not that gravitational pull”.

That’s a very powerful picture of what our lives can be like, a collection of some really great things but ultimately nothing pulling it all together and therefore no real meaning to our accomplishments. Jobs in a round-about way was referring to himself and his vision as that gravitational pull that makes Apple what it is, – and he is probably right.

Thinking for a moment about our lives as Christians, – so many great things we can do for God so many nobel and worthy ministries we can be involved in, – BUT what is the gravitational pull that holds it all together and gives it meaning?
The answer is repeated again and again in the New Testament, -

Colossians 2 verse 9 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority”.

So what’s the centre of life for you? – something to ponder on.

: relationships
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Building Great Friendships

Excerpts from a message given Sunday 25th Jan 2009 (Barry)

What is friendship? – “A close trusting relationship between two people”
-Its relationship

Jesus was emphatic when asked what the greatest commandment was, -love God, love others
Read – Mark 12:29

Relationships Jesus is saying are to be at the top of your to –do list,
NOT accomplishments, if these two commands are true

Someone once said:-

The greatest use of time is love
The greatest expression of love is time
The greatest time to love is now
So TIME and LOVE are essential ingredients to building great friendships

But not everyone knows how to and
it’s often tougher than you think

Take a challenge – build 5 new significant friends into your life this year, do it intentionally

Three helpful keys to building lasting friendship:-

1/ Don’t pretend to be perfect
Be approachable
Proverbs 17: 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

2/ Forgive easily and quickly
Proverbs 27: 6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

3/ Be authentic
Proverbs 22: 11 He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.

: relationships
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