Posted: 2/22/2012 5:39:45 AM EDT
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We are doing a series entitlled DNA of Relationships at our church on Sunday evenings. The first video series was a nice warm up to get the brain thinking. Part of the series is a daily email I thought I would share in this thread. Please feel free to comment on your thoughts.
Day 1 email: RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD “Why do I at times feel distant from God?” The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2:25 Adam was the first person created. He must have felt a harmonious connectedness to his environment and an intimate connectedness to God. The Garden of Eden was a true paradise, a safe place to exist. There was no war, famine, natural catastrophes, or sin. But Adam felt not only safe and at peace with God but also at peace with himself. Adam was confident of his place in the universe. God gave Adam everything he needed: work to do, a close relationship with his Creator, everything he needed to take care of himself. God gave Adam and Eve responsibility over everything else he had made and allowed them unlimited access to the fruit of the tree of life in the center of the Garden. Life was very good for Adam and Eve. They were safe and deeply satisfied in their relationships with God and each other. There was only one catch. God told them not to eat any fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But the deceiver convinced them otherwise. He told them that if they ate the fruit from the tree, they would be like God. Wanting the same wisdom and power as God, Adam and Eve chose to disregard God's instructions and they stopped depending upon him. It made sense to them that if they became like God and something happened to either of them, they could just create another clone. They’d never be alone and they’d have great power. But… The next time God came walking in the Garden to spend time with them, Adam and Eve hid from him because they were ashamed and afraid of the consequences of their actions. When God questioned them, Adam pointed the finger at Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. Neither was willing to take responsibility. Adam and Eve's choice changed everything. Gone was the harmonious relationship they had enjoyed with God. Gone was the satisfying relationship with each other. Their relationships were shattered. And as a result we have been struggling with shattered relationships ever since. Who is responsible for the distance we sometimes feel toward God? And what role does Christ fill to bridge the gap between man and God? What do you need to do today? |
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I missed a day in there but here is todays email.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS "I'll go halfway if you go halfway." He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Luke 12:31 Don't Look to Others to Make You Happy. One of the things that will help you take control is clearing up a prevalent misconception. Many of us grew up believing a powerful but very deceptive myth. We completely bought into the idea that relationships are all about back-scratching. You know: "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." Or, it's like the myth of the fifty-fifty marriage: "I'll go halfway if you go halfway." Have you ever caught yourself or your friends making statements like the following? In a successful marriage, both spouses meet all the other's needs. The best relationships "complete" those involved; what was half becomes whole. The best way to find a best friend is to look for someone who can make you happy. Do any of these statements sound familiar? They probably do. Yet despite what you may have been taught, all three statements are false. Myths. Deceptions. Lies! And if you believe them, they'll end up costing you big. The truth is what we often call "needs" normally better fit the category of "wants." We want others to respect us, admire us, and need us. But are those true needs? No one can meet all our needs aside from God himself. If you depend on a spouse to meet your "needs," you set yourself up for trouble. The relationship becomes an unhealthy, codependent one. Your fulfillment is emphatically not the job of someone else. God has given this job to you, and only you can shoulder it. God has promised to meet all of your needs. You are the one who cooperates with him and receives his riches as he gives them. Have you believed the lie? How will you look to God to fill your needs, rather than others? |
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