On Point Christian Magazine

With Him on your side, YOU are a giant slayer! If we can learn from and apply the keys to David’s success against Goliath, we can learn how to bring down our own Goliaths. We can face these giants with confidence and become Giant slayers.

Let’s look at these specific things from 1 Samuel 17 and see if we can learn from David to become a giant slayer!

1.  First of all, you must be submitted to authority. You have to get under what God puts over you, or you’ll never get over what God wants to put under you! You can have talent, calling, and anointing, but if you are not submitted to authority—such as parents, teachers, spiritual leaders, you will not see your giants fall. Submit yourself to the authority of godly people who God has put you around and opened the door for you to learn from. Submit yourself, and if they’re wrong, God will deal with them. But as you submit, it empowers you to slay giants.

2.   the Bible says in 1 Samuel 17:20, “David rose early in the morning.” If you’re going to defeat your giant, you’ve got to rise up early. You have to put some things first. This speaks of discipline. Are you disciplined to make time to read your bible, to pray, to spend time in worship? You must first be disciplined before you can slay your giant. Otherwise, it’s like competing in the Olympics without ever practicing.

The other thing rising up early in the morning speaks of about David, is that he GOT UP! Your enemy will always show up when you’re in the trenches. When you’re down in your lowest place. The Bible said when David arrived the men were in the trench. Sometimes we dig a safe place to hide. We find a level of comfort to live with that protects us from what’s going on around us. But when you peep out of that trench, looking up to face your enemy, all of a sudden that 9-foot tall giant appears to be 15-feet! But if you’ll get up, you’ll see the enemy is not as big as you thought it was!

3.  Next, when Goliath stepped forward, they got up out of the trenches and started shouting for the battle. If you’re going to kill a giant, you can’t be silent. Giant killers shout. Giant killers praise. Giant killers say to themselves, “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth.” You have to lift your voice for victory in your family. Lift your voice in prayer. Lift your voice in the confession of God’s word. Shout the promise is bigger than the lies the enemy is touting. The enemy wants to silence you. He wants to silence you with fear and judgment and defeat. But Joshua said shout, for the Lord has given you the city. And Ezra said shout grace, grace, because God has already laid a foundation. Shout your promises. Speak your truth. Do not be silent.

 4.  Number four, David wasn’t focused on the battle; he was focused on the reward. “Tell me, what will I get if I win this battle?” Twice in 1 Samuel 17, David asked what would happen if he killed Goliath and twice the reward is repeated. I believe God wanted to make that point clear. Everyone else was focused on the battle – may be afraid of what would happen if they lost. But David wanted to get focused on the prize. When you get in the battle, the enemy wants you to focus on the wrong thing. Focus on the reward. Get your eyes on the prize. It’s worth all the struggles and the things that we go through to get our families to Heaven. It’s worth fighting for. It’s worth living right. It’s worth keeping your family in the church. It’s worth the fight. Focus on the reward. No more sorrow. No more pain. No more death. Get your eyes off of the risk and on to the reward. Heaven is going to be worth it all.

5.  This one is very important. If you’re going to slay your giants, you have to be the same in the dark as you are in the light. You have to defeat your personal lion and bear before you can go out and defeat Gol

Leaders are defined by their commitments—non-negotiables they must keep in order to lead effectively and biblically in a ministry setting. Such commitments aren’t standards that other people set for them. In fact, great leaders often expect more from themselves than they do from their followers.

Six times in the New Testament, the Bible says to “make every effort.” 

I think we’d all agree that if the Bible tells us to make every effort to do something, we should commit to that. These verses represent 6 vows that spiritual leaders need to make in order to become the kind of leader God calls us to be. ………………………….

 There are a total of six vows. 

1.    As a leader, I vow to maintain my integrity.
“Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with [God]” (2 Peter 3:14 NIV). You don’t need to be perfect to be an effective leader, but you do need to be transparent about your weaknesses. The Bible says hiding your sins leads to failure, “but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13 NIV).

2.    As a leader, I vow to forgive those who have hurt me.
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:14-15 NIV). You will be hurt in ministry, both intentionally and unintentionally. That’s a guarantee. 

Pioneers always get the arrows!
Even Jesus, who was a perfect leader, was betrayed. It’s not always your fault, but it will be your fault if you carry bitterness in your heart, as it will keep you from being the leader God wants you to be.

3.    As a leader, I vow to relax and trust God.
“Anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter [God’s] rest” (Hebrews 4:10-11 NIV). You’ll need to learn what I call “relaxed concern” to be effective in ministry. You must be concerned about the needs of the people around you, but also remember you’re not God. You cannot bear everybody’s burden all the time.  

4.    As a leader, I vow to be an encourager.
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19 NIV). The word “edification” means to build up. To be a leader, you must decide to build up people, not tear them down. 

How can you do that? Regularly praise the people you’re leading. Focus on what they’re doing that is positive, including their potential to grow and improve. Every human being is a mix of problems and potential. People often live up to the expectations placed on them. 

5.    As a leader, I vow to be a peacemaker.
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3 NIV). Leaders should work toward reducing conflict in their places of influence—and certainly should not add to it. Our world has plenty of conflict already. 

This means refusing to participate in gossip and challenging it when you hear it. No one likes to be called out for gossip, but addressing gossip for what it is will help to shut it down. 

6.    As a leader, I vow to never stop growing.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV).

Does life have you going in circles? Do you ever find yourself going around and around searching for meaning and fulfillment in different areas, but never seem to arrive at an intended location? 

If this is you, I want to tell you more about the One who says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” When you link up with Jesus – He will take you to your purpose. He will guide you to your destiny. 

He has a plan for your life. 

Jesus Christ did not make His debut on that first Christmas morning in Bethlehem. He existed before creation “in the beginning.” In fact, it was “through Him” that “all things were made.” (John 1:3) Even when we look back to the book of Genesis, we read that God said, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26) 

The Word John speaks of as he opens his Gospel presentation is none other than Jesus Christ. We know this because later, in verse 14, John tells us, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Imagine the depth of that reality. The Word, who is God, came down to dwell among us. 

Jesus walked among us. He was flesh, bones, sinew, and blood, and yet He was also the perfection of the divine. At one moment He was hungry because He was fully human. The next moment, He miraculously fed 5,000 because He was fully God. One moment Jesus agonized on a cross and died because He was fully human. Three days later, He rose from the grave because He was fully God. We read, “God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him.” (Colossians 1:19) 

Without Jesus, we would have no chance of understanding God. “No one has ever seen God, but the only begotten Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” (John 1:18) 

How does God make Himself known? Through Jesus. To understand and know Jesus is to understand and know God. 

Philip had been one of Jesus’ disciples for almost three years when he came up with an interesting request. “Show us the Father,” he said, “and that will be enough for us.” (John 14:8) Jesus’ answer puts His question in perspective. “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) 

Jesus took everything there is to know about God and put it on a shelf that we could reach. He is the complete revelation of God Himself. That’s why you can’t go around Jesus and get to God. He is the only begotten Son. Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius . . . no prophet, teacher or king can make that claim. “I am the way and the truth and the life,” Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) 

Today, when we choose names for our children, we sometimes base our selection on how that name sounds. A first name that rolls off the tongue nicely when combined with the last name is a popular option for many moms and dads. In biblical times, however, parents cared less about the sound of a name as they did about its meaning. A name was more than simply what sounded good. It was, rather, a replica and revelation of the individual or thing itself. 

A name is so important in biblical settings that there are frequent mentions throughout Scripture of God Himself changing someone’s name to reflect a new reality. Abram, which means “exalted father,” was changed to Abraham meaning “exalted father of multitudes.” Jacob, whose original name meant “grabber of the heel” and “deceitful,” had his name changed to Israel after wrestling with God. His new name, Israel, means “one who prevails.” 

 In Scripture, a name often both denoted and connoted purpose, authority, makeup, and ownership. It was frequently seen as an actual equivalency of a person or thing. When Jesus said that He had made God’s “name known to them, and will make it known...,”4 He was referencing more than just sounds put together in a word. Jesus, having come to earth in the flesh, unveiled God’s heart, mind, will, ch

C. S. Lewis said it like this, "The only thing Christianity cannot be is moderately important." Moderately important! If Jesus is God and He died and loved you that much, you owe Him the rest of your life, every spare minute of it. The only thing Christianity cannot be is moderately important. It either deserves your entire life or nothing. Passion!

 The creative force behind all great art, all great drama, all great music, all great architecture, all great writing is passion. Nothing great is ever accomplished in life without passion. Nothing great is ever sustained in life without passion. Passion is what energizes life. Passion makes the impossible possible. Passion gives you a reason to get up in the morning and go, "I’m going to do something with my life today." Without passion life becomes boring. It becomes monotonous. It becomes routine. It becomes dull. 

Nothing else matters in life if you don’t love God passionately. God doesn’t want you to love Him half-heartedly. He wants you to love Him with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.

Then as if you didn’t get the message, Paul says it too…in Colossians 3:23 He says "Whatever you do, do it with all of your heart as unto the Lord and not unto men." He says I want you to do everything passionately when it comes to loving Me, serving Me, living for Me.

 Here’s the amazing thing. In America, it’s ok to be passionate about anything except God. That is not politically correct -- to be passionate about God. I can be passionate about movies. I can be passionate about sports. I can be passionate about politics. I can be passionate about fashion and clothes. I can be passionate about restaurants (and some of us really are). But I cannot be passionate about God. That’s a no-no.

I type in the phrase "a passion for..." into Amazon.com and found a couple of hundred books with that title. There’s a book called A Passion for Birds, A Passion for Books, A Passion for Cactus, A Passion for Chocolate (that’s understandable), A Passion for Fashion, ... for Fishing... for Flying, ... for Gardening, ... Golf, Hunting. 

But in our culture, it’s ok to be passionate about anything, except your faith, except your relationship with God. I can go to a rock concert, or a political rally or a baseball game and I can shout my head off. 

Romans 12:1 "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor." 

Everything in life conspires to keep you from being passionate. And it dissipates your energy. 

That’s what we’re going to look at today. As we go through God’s word we’re going to look at seven passion killers, things that rob the joy out of your life. ………………..

1. An unbalanced schedule
Life is a series of seasons, the Bible says. There’s a season for everything. And there’s a rhythm to life. You need both in your life -- both input and output. You need both rest and work. And too much of either will cause you to lose your passion. Too much work will cause you to lose your passion. Too much nothing -- boredom -- will cause you to lose your passion too if you’re not working enough.

 2. An unused talent
An unused talent will cause you to lose your passion for life and your passion for God. 1 Peter 4:10 says "Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gifts well." Notice God gives you certain talents, abilities, personality, gifts -- and those gifts, those talents that you’ve been given are not for your benefit. They’re for the benefit of other people. My gifts are for your benefit. Your gifts are for my benefit. You are to use those gifts in the service of other people. 

 3. An unconfessed sin
This is a big one. Few things rob us of joy, rob your confidence, rob your passion, more quickly than guil

For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the phrase ‘level up’…it is simple a phrase that means to make moves for the benefit and betterment of ones life.   It means that a person is not waiting for something to happen but rather they are ready to make something happen.  Things are moving because I’m making some moves!  It is a phrase that pushes us to our potential…create a burden for our best…to give us an appetite for achievement…it is the individual that is saying, “I want God’s best for my life.”

 Of course when I say, ‘level up’ most people think of elevation (you know, going up)…however, I am not referring to elevation as much as evolution.  I’m not referring to becoming a better version of an old thing…I’m talking about a superior version of a new thing.

 Vance Havner – God is not in the antique business…where He takes an old thing and makes it look new.  He is in the creation business where He takes old things and makes them brand new.

 So, what had to happen in Jacob’s life before he could come to this place of evolution…here are a few things to consider.

 Jacob got word, that his brother Esau knew he was coming.  So, he sent his family on ahead of him just in case things would go bad between him and his brother….he sent them over the brook Jabok and the Bible said, he was left alone…at the place of the crossing there he wrestled with a man ‘till daybreak.

 So, here, in the middle of the night God shows up…now I prefer the God that shows up to tell me He loves me…I would rather see the God that tells me, “Lo, I’m with you always even till the end of the world.”

I would rather see the side of God that tells the storm, “Peace, be still.”  This time God shows up, and for no apparent reason HE STARTS A FIGHT!

 When the man saw that he couldn’t win over Jacob he touched his hip until it was pulled out of place…he dislocated it.  To dislocate is to disturb the normal arrangement of things…to change the connection

1. You might have to allow the Lord to change some of your connections
There are some places you will never go simply because you have the wrong people in your life…People come and people go. Some are there just for a season. Others are there to fulfill general aspects of your life.

Some of the people around you are logical, and some are analytical. Others are creative and energizing, but the contribution of each person is vital.  On the other hand, some of the people in your life are an empty well, and you know it.  There are some people around you that possess the solution to your problems, there are others that are the problem to your solutions…in order to level up you will have to discern some relationships and you may have to allow the Lord to do some dislocating and change some of your connections.

The result of this encounter results in Jacob walking with a limp…v.32. Then the man says, “…let me go for it’s daybreak…” v. 26.  Now, Jacob is injured but he still has the ability to keep fighting.  I’m hurt but I’m still here!

 2. On the way to your next level, you must learn how to keep on, even though you’re limping.
I’m hurt but I can still pray…I’m hurt but I can still praise…my feelings are hurt but I’m gonna move on…you can tell I’ve been through something because I’m limping.

 Now, if you read your Bible closely you will see that the trajectory of Jacob’s life changed from this encounter…v. 26 says that they wrestled until day break…which means they fought all night.

3. Now, Jacob didn’t become Israel until he won the battle he was fighting in the dark.
We all have something we are wrestling with.

·      There’s a wrestling match going on that you keep hidden from those around you…maybe it’s unforgiveness…maybe its bitterness, insecurity, sadness…

Did you know there are some places where we are losing when we could be winning? It’s not because we don’t have the talent, the skill, or the ability—it's because we don’t have the focus. Peter allowed the blowing wind to distract him while walking on water. If you are going to have an unbreakable life, you must maintain unbreakable focus. 

 Sometimes the difference between a breakdown and a break-through is FOCUS.

 Your talent, abilities, skill, faculty, flair, gift, genius your very anointing are all at the mercy of your focus.  An unstoppable life requires unbreakable focus

 Focus (According to m-w.com) – the center of interest or activity… the state or quality of having or producing clear visual 

 As long as Peter kept Jesus as his focus he walked on water…but (the text says) he saw the wind and began to sink.  Peter no longer placed Christ in the center of his activity and interest.  Peter started looking at the reason he couldn’t do this even though Jesus said COME.

 Here’s something to consider, you don’t really see wind, you see what the wind is doing to things around you.  So, Peter started to see the waves and lost focus…You cannot win looking at the wind. Faith helps you keep your focus, which helps you to keep your eyes on Jesus, which allows you to walk on water.

·      Everything follows your vision…

That’s why the Bible says in Proverbs 4:25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.  Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. It’s easy to drift. Life is hectic for all of us and if we’re not intentional about our direction in life we can easily wake up one day and wonder how we got where we are.

A common complaint I hear from people, men in particular, is regret over not having done something in their life that they had always wanted or planned to do. It wasn’t their intention not to do it, but they also weren’t intentional enough to make sure it happened.

 Which direction does your focus go – backward, forward, or present? Here are 3 keys to staying focused:

1. Don’t Look Back.
While it’s helpful for us to learn from our mistakes, it’s important that we don’t spend more time in the past than is necessary to learn those lessons. A good distinction to note is whether our purpose for thinking about the past is to learn from it, or escape to it.

2. Don’t Live in the Future.
Okay, obviously if we have to look forward or we won’t know where we’re going. And some looking forward is necessary to set goals and develop plans to meet them. However, living in the future is a whole other thing. Again, a key distinction is our purpose for thinking about the future. 

3. Stay in the Present.
Living in today doesn’t mean we don’t look back or forward, but we don’t do it to the point that it robs us of today and we don’t do it to escape today. We have to continue to remind ourselves that the only way tomorrow will be better is if we stay focused on the present.

 As long as Peter looked at Jesus he didn’t sink…whenever the wind is blowing in your life you can’t look to what you usually do.

As I was reflecting on Peter. . .I was stirred by 3 things that need to happen if we want unbreakable focus!

1.   Intercession
Before Jesus went out on the water…he prayed.  Prayer reminds you of the greatness of God…prayer in a storm is different than prayer in the norm.

·      In the time of pressure and pain your prayers will help you focus on the endurance you will need for th

There is an emotional epidemic that is affecting people all over the world, including the church…it’s called stress.  It is so disruptive and destructive that an article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that it is responsible for taking more lives than smoking, drinking, and lack of exercising combined.  You see, it is not as much as what you eat rather it is what is eating you.

 The University of London printed that it was 6x’s more likely to cause cancer than high cholesterol, smoking, and elevated blood pressure…I am referring to a silent killer…

-You can’t see it. (invisible)

-You can’t hear it. (inaudible)

-You can’t feel it. (intangible).    It’s called stress…

 It is completely indiscriminatory …. Everyone no matter your age, economic status, or season of life you are in is vulnerable to stress.
Stress -  force or influence exerted when one thing or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another thing or body part.  The state or result of one thing pushing against another.  Pressure, strain, or tension.  Stress is caused when your every effort to push through this life are met with the cares of this world pushing back.

We all are dealing with stress in our life.  Stress is pretty much unavoidable.  What we have to learn to do is manage the stress.  there are some things that Jesus taught to help manage stress.

Philippians 4:6-7. Living Bible

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. 7 If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

1.   V. 6 “Refuse to worry about anything…”
Jesus spent a majority of His most famous sermon (Sermon on the. Mount) on the subject of worry…He says many things about it…here are 3

·      Worry is unreasonable, illogical, and it doesn’t make sense.
Matthew 6 “Don’t worry about your life; what you’ll eat or drink; or your body, what you’ll wear.  Your life is more than your food, and your body is more than just what you’ll wear…”

·      The next thing Jesus taught in the sermon of the mount about worry is – Worry is Unnatural-
Jesus points out the in all of the things in the universe that He created, the only thing that worries is us.  In Matthew 6 Jesus refers us to the birds and tells us how they do not worry.  I mean, birds don’t worry and God is not their Father…he’s their creator but not their Father.

·      The next thing Jesus said about worry in His sermon on the mount is that - Worry is Unhelpful-
It can’t make you taller…shorter…skinnier.  It can’t help yesterday…it can’t change tomorrow…the only thing it can do ruin today.  The only thing changes is YOU.

The next step is the next phrase of Phil. 4:6…
2. “…Talk to God About Everything…”
In other words…don’t panic, pray!  Don’t worry, worship!   Don’t stress, talk to God about everything.

·      If we prayed as much as we worry, we would probably have a whole let less to worry about.

·      Here’s what Paul is saying to the church at Phillipi, “…if it’s not worth praying about, it’s not worth worrying about…”

The next thing he tells us to do in Phil. 4:6 is point #3
3.” …Thank God in All Things…”
Not for all things…rather, in all things.  The New Living Translation of that phrase is “…when you ask God for what you need also thank Him for all He’s done…”

 Did you know when you have an attitude of gratitude and thankfulne

The missing man seems to have become the crisis of the day.

It is being asked by the child that has to grow up with either a physically or emotionally absent father…it is asked by the mother who has been abandoned to raise her children on her own…but, worst of all it is being asked by God, “where are you?”  So the desperate need of today is to call males back to being men…as God defines being a man…not as the culture defines him.

 Ezekiel 22:30 (King James Version) 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

 Jer. 5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

 There's a disconnect between men and church. And what's amazing is this is not true in other religions. Men outnumber women in the Buddhist religion. Men outnumber women in the Hindu religion. Men greatly outnumber women in the Islamic faith. Only in the Christian faith do women outnumber men in the church. What's going on? There is an absence of men in the church, real men. Somehow there's a disconnect between men and wanting to be in church. Why is that? What's going on? Is that how it was in Jesus' day, in the first-century church? Something is happening with the men.

 I want to use the word REAL as an acrostic and discuss with you why R.E.A.L. men matter

1.    Responsibility
1 Tim. 2:13 “Adam was first formed, then Eve.

Adam and Eve were not created at the same time…God spends an entire chapter of Gen. (chapter 2) discussing his creation of Adam before Eve even comes into the picture. WHY?  Because it would be the man that would be responsible.

Even though it was Adam and Eve hiding in the garden at the same time, God didn’t say, “Adam and Eve where are y’all?”     Because Adam was the one that God would expect to take responsibility.  If you are going to be God’s man you must be ready to take a position of responsibility…responsibility (m-w.com) is accountability, blame.  You must take the “mindset” …”If I don’t do it, who’s going to?”

So, if your culture is declining…while we can discuss all the peripheral social, cultural, socio-political reasons why, God stands up in the middle of it all and asks, “Men, where are you?”

 Because the man was first, he must function as the foundation…and the one where buck stops!

 The buck stops here.
—A sign on the desk of President Harry S. Truman 

If you’ve ever played or watched sports, you know what I mean by the “loser’s limp.” It’s what happens when an outfielder misjudges a fly ball and misses the catch, or when a wide receiver drops an easy pass. The player falls to the ground and gets up limping. 

 He’s not really hurt. The purpose of the limp is to camouflage his failure. He wants his teammates and fans to think he missed the ball because of a cramp or pulled muscle or another injury— anything besides his own mistake. It’s the athlete’s excuse.  Adam tried his own loser’s limp way back in the gar­den. Despite what you learned from a Bible storybook, Eve was not alone during her conversation with the ser­pent. Genesis 3:6 describes “her husband with her.” The whole time the serpent was talking, Adam was there. Silent. And by his silence, Adam relinquished his God-given right to leadership. The silence of Adam is still a problem among men. But Adam—and you and I—are still accountable. While Eve bore responsibility for her part, Adam was held responsible because of his leader­ship position.

 Men, you are responsible for that which falls within your realm of influence: your family, m

Marriage and family, by God's design, is one of life's greatest privileges and most amazing adventures. But the devil's plan for marriage includes making life miserable and destroying you to the core.  God created a family before He created the church…These are stressful times in which we live.  And almost every day you hear about another home where the string has snapped.

Stress in a home is like sand to machinery, and a marriage that should be smooth and efficient instead begins to slowly grind away!

1.               Learn to Laugh
Proverbs 17:22  A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. 

Laughter is a gift God has given to us, to release tension, and to keep our spirits from being broken in this sin-cursed earth.  According to this verse, it’s one of God’s ways of keeping us healthy, emotionally and physically.  Medical science has proven that when you laugh, chemicals and enzymes are released in the brain which is extremely important to the health of our vital organs.

 An article from a secular magazine called Executive Digest:  “Scientists have been studying the effects of laughter on human beings and have found, among other things, that laughter has a profound and instantaneous effect on virtually every important organ of the human body.  Laughter reduces unhealthy tensions and relaxes the tissues, as well as exercising the most vital organs.  Laughter, even when forced, results in a beneficial effect on us, both mentally and physically.  So, the next time you feel nervous and jittery, indulge in a good laugh.”

2.               Cultivate Contentment
We try to have too much too quickly...we want everything our parents got over several decades, and now...on credit!  The devil is heaping stress upon us and we need to remember things won't make us happy.

Don’t even get on the treadmill of materialism, it doesn’t take you anywhere! (if only we had a bigger, nicer house, newer car…no, if you’re not happy w/ what you’ve got now, you wouldn’t be then, it has nothing to do w/ it.) 

3.               Alleviate Anger
Proverbs 15:18
18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. 

The clear lesson here:  the way to control anger is to control your mouth…your tongue! Nothing will reduce stress and tension in the home like getting control of your words.

        When you are mad, angry, upset (and those times will come) keep your mouth shut!  “Be angry, and sin not!”

4.               Walk in Wisdom
We need to do some prevention, especially if things are good now at home.  Because many times the marriage which started out as the ideal becomes an ordeal and somebody starts looking for a new deal! 

Strife and tension result when there’s confusion when we’re not on the same page when the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing…the result isn’t unity and harmony, it’s division, strife, tension, and stress!

You can build your home on 1 of 2 foundations:  rock or sand

·      The difference is whether or not you put Christ first in your life/marriage…that's building on The Rock…and when the winds of adversity blow, and the waves of disappointment roll in, your house will be able to weather the storm.  That’s walking in wisdom!

And then you can build something beautiful together!  On the foundation of Christ.

You Are Designed For Connection.  Eyes require a view. Ears require sound. The mind requires thoughts.   Aloneness creates vulnerability. God knew it. “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone,” (Genesis 2:18).

 God loves marriage. But, marriage is not a mere reproduction center for human babies.

Marriage is sowing ground where you sow your patience, love, and enthusiasm, and watch it multiply in those around you who celebrate your presence.

Your mate is a gift from God to you. That gift is intended to: 

1) protect your focus, 

2) reduce distractions, and 

3) create a climate of protection.

 Focus often creates blindness. When you are looking north, you cannot see south. Someone else is needed for your protection. So, God provides the gift of a Mate.  Unfortunately, some who qualify for our attention are often unqualified to receive our hearts.