WEEK 4
DAY 22
Do Something Drastic. “When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” (Luke 5:19) The crowd was keeping the friends of the paralyzed man from getting their friend to Jesus, so they tore a hole in the roof. I would say that was drastic! When your life gets over crowded, you can’t just make minor adjustment in your schedule and expect everything to be different. You must do something drastic because we tend to gravitate to an overloaded lifestyle. Many times because we live life in a hurry, busy, busy schedules, we don’t take time to be passionate about living for Jesus. If you knew you had one month to live, would you adjust your schedule and slow your life down? If the answer is yes, why not do it now? We need to ask ourselves, “What is really important?”
That is exactly what these friends of the paralyzed man did. They realized what was important. They knew it could be their last opportunity to get their friend to Jesus. As they tore the hole in the roof, they probably were not thinking they were going to have to pay for the roof. They were willing to do whatever was necessary to get their friend to Jesus. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be all that God wants you to be and do? Sometimes we get stuck on the roof worrying about “stuff” that does not have eternal significance. We focus on things that really don’t matter. These men removed the obstacles that stood in their way. We must be willing to do the same. We must decide what is really important. We have to do something to get out of the crowded lifestyle to live passionately for Jesus. We must set God as our #1 priority! Spend some time meditating on all that God has brought to your mind today. Record in your journal these things. Examine your life and identify what is “crowding” you from putting God 1st in your life. Set goals to remove obstacles, like the roof, in your life. Do something drastic!
DAY 23
Expect the Unexpected. Luke 5:18-20 and 24-26 (NIV) says “Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." …But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." We need to Expect the Unexpected---We prioritize our lives based on what’s important. We come up with a plan, but things don’t always go as planned. That is what happened with the friends of the paralyzed man when they brought their friend to Jesus. These men had this perfect plan to get their friend to Jesus so he could be healed. They had a plan, but when they got there they realized that things weren’t going as planned. They realized that there was no way they could get to the front door and get their friend to Jesus. They could have given up, but they didn’t!
Whenever your plans change, it is passion that makes you roll with the punches. You give it to God and you get creative and come up with a new plan. They got creative and went through the roof. Here the phrase “going through the roof” takes on a whole new meaning. When they lowered their friend down right in front of Jesus, Jesus did something unexpected. Verse 20 says When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." When they brought him they expected Jesus to heal him physically. We need to learn how to receive the unexpected. Jesus knew what was best for him. He needed spiritual healing even more than physical healing, so Jesus healed him spiritually first and then physically. Go back and read the passage of Scripture and think on this miracle. We need to ask ourselves, “Do I have the faith these men had”? Do I get discouraged when the unexpected happens or do I have passion to keep going and come up with another plan? If you are hurting spiritually, ask God to heal you.
DAY 24
Yesterday we looked at Luke 5:19 that says “… they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” They Created “God Space” to get before Jesus. Right in the middle of the crowd they created a space that wasn’t there so their friend could meet Jesus! A lesson we draw from this is that in the same way in the middle of our crowed, over-scheduled busy lives, we have to create a God space intentionally to meet Jesus. Mark 1:35(HCSB) says “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.” Even Jesus had to create space in his life, in his schedule and busy ministry so he could meet and speak with his Father. Using Jesus as the example for us, we should be challenged to create a space for getting alone with Jesus. You cannot do this driving to work or in the midst of others, but we need to create a space to be alone with God so we can read, meditate on the Scripture and hear God. Another lesson we see here is Jesus didn’t allow others to control his time. Too many times we allow others to crowd out the space we created for God. Do you allow this to happen?
Ask yourself “what can I do to not allow things and people to crowd out the space I created for God? The secret of maintaining your passion for God in a crowded world is spending time alone with him! You have heard it said and probably have said this to others and it is a true saying and kind of a cliché, but how true…”Keep your eyes on Jesus”. He knew what was most important and he had to make the decision to leave and separate himself from the crowd so that he could spend time alone with his Father! That is the secret of maintaining our passion in a crowded world. It is our responsibility to create a space to meet with God. It is also our responsibility to not allow anything to crowd that space out. There are times that come when we have no choice except to crowd out that space. The teaching here from Jesus is to not make it a habit of allowing things or people to crowd out the space we have created for God. When we focus on pleasing an audience of One, then our priorities become crystal clear and we live with passion! Meditate on the fact that if Jesus had to create a God space, how much more do we need to do the same! As you think on all this, write down the things that crowd your God Space and how you can protect that precious time.
DAY 25
The paralyzed man Kept A Constant Reminder of what Jesus did in his life. We keep reminders of events that happen in our lives, hether it be pictures, souvenirs, a lock of our children’s hair when they were infants, or other things. I worked as a city police officer until Becky graduated from college, then I went back to finish college and remained a police officer. I still have the revolver that I carried and it is a reminder of those years. I have sermon notes from one of the two pastors that God used to change my life and teach me the Word of God. They are both dead, but I have kept the notes as a reminder of them pouring their lives into me. My college, seminary and ordination certificates hang on the wall in our study. These are constant reminders of when I completed levels of education. In Luke 5:24 Jesus said to the paralyzed man“…I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." That small detail could easily be overlooked. Jesus could have said get up and throw your mat in the trash because you won’t need it again. But he didn’t do that. Luke 5:25 says “…Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” Why was this recorded in Scripture? Perhaps it would be a constant reminder for him that Jesus healed him. Maybe Jesus was saying, let it be a reminder to you of the day I healed you. Maybe the man put the mat up in his house and every day when he would walk by it and smiled and thought how Jesus healed him spiritually and physically and he would never need this mat again!
We need a constant reminder to live our lives in a way that we would if we had only one month to live. What that reminder is will be different for different people. One reason I journal and encourage other people to do so is that I often look back over the years of my Quiet Time journals and see what God was doing in my life at a particular time. I just looked back on April 16, 2014 and the Scripture was Eph. 6:14-18 and this is a portion of my notes I wrote on that day: “As I think on these verses in today's QT, I think of what I need to do. I must guard my mind and think on the things of God. I must continually renew my mind to think on the things of God. I must love God with all my MIND.” I just looked back in my journal and read my notes for the past few years, so you see that my journal notes are a constant reminder of what God was doing in my life on these days. What reminders do you need to have to take you back to special spiritual experiences? Spend some time meditating on the special spiritual experiences you have had over the years. What are the high lights and why? Read Psalm 150 and rejoice in Him as you read it. Praise Him as the Psalm says and pray it back to Him! HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!!!!!!!
DAY 26
Jesus Loved Completely. Matt. 22: 39 says “… Love your neighbor as yourself…” John 13:34-35 (HCSB) adds “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus showed us the greatest example of love when he went to the cross. If you knew you had only one month to live, how would you change the way you love? Would you need to build or repair some bridges? If you died today and Jesus said to you, “I am sending your back to earth to mend some relationships,” who would you need to mend your relationship with? Is there anyone that comes to mind? If so why not do that today? For us to love the way God tell us, we need the power of Jesus. 1 Cor. 1:18 (NLT) says “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.” Whether it is a marriage, friendship or family member, there are many mountains we have to climb in order to love some people. Loving others will remind us to work through problems that arise, and not avoid seeking the solution. Loving completely as Jesus did will enable us to be obedient to his command of loving others.
Matt 18: 15-17 (NLT) says “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” Read, identify the principles, study, then apply them to any situation in relationships that may arise. If we as Believers would do this we would have much less difficulties in our life and in the church. This is just another example of how the Bible is the “Handbook of Life”. It is the manual that God has provided for us to live by. If we follow its instructions, we will LOVE COMPLETELY. Take time today to ask God to reveal any relationship in your life that need to be mended and take action today to take care of it.
DAY 27
Many times Misunderstandings are what cause problems in relationships. Many relationships don’t have the power to climb over the mountains of the misunderstanding. In any relationship, those misunderstandings can pile up a like mountain higher than the crest of the Sandias! This is true in marriages also. Remember in a marriage, most of the time opposites attract one another! Speaking of mountains, the first one we have to conquer is the mountain of “Me First”, which is probably the greatest problem in relationships. What is your attitude? Is it “my way” first? Or is it others first? The Philippians apparently had a problem because the Apostle Paul wrote this in Phil. 2:3 (NLT) “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” If we want to have the same attitude of Jesus, we must put others ahead of ourselves. Relationships are not for wimps. It takes dependence on the power of Holy Spirit. His power supply is unlimited and the Bible throughout reveals strategies for learning to love completely! We must depend on the instructions from the Handbook of Life—The Bible! Take time to meditate on your relationship with God, family, friends, coworkers, business associates and others. Stop and praise the Lord for all the relationships that you have, beginning with your relationship with Him. Write out anything that God brings to mind, whether it be a relationship that needs to be worked on, or your joy in the relationships you have that are a blessing to you.
DAY 28
Another important strategy that should come first is Acceptance. Romans 15:7 (NLT) says “Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.” To accept others means that I must stop trying to change others and try to understand them. I yield the keyboard to my wife Becky for her to share her thoughts on this.
(Becky) As a word of testimony I must say in our early marriage, I spent several years trying to change Jerry. I am not sure that I tried to change him as much as I asked the Lord to change him. Oh, I am sure I tried in subtle ways to get him to change, but one thing I discovered (and wives I am sure you can relate to this),you don’t hint to a man and hope he will get the message. It doesn’t work that way. You have to sit him down, take his face in your hands and look him in straight in the eyes and say this is what I think or this is what I want to happen. Hints just don’t work! One day after several years of marriage and begging the Lord to change him, the Lord said to me, “You don’t worry about Jerry, concentrate on changes you need to make and leave him to me”. I had been dwelling on the negative in his life so much that I couldn’t see the good qualities. So, I sat down and made a list of his good qualities and put it in a place where I could see it often. I watched God work in Jerry’s life and change him and that was a big step in God healing our relationship.
I recalled Phil 4:8 (NLT) which says,” And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” In other words, I had to come to grips with what every married person has to realize, that we have to receive our spouse as God’s special gift to us. We have to accept one another cheerfully and gladly. We have to love completely. A sign of not having accepted someone is that we are still trying to change them. We have counseled with couples that have been married for many years who have never really and truly accepted one another. I remember we counseled a couple who were about to the point of divorce. Once they discovered the fact that they had never really accepted each other and were dwelling on the negative things about each other and not the positive, and settled a few other problems, things really changed. They have been happier in their marriage than ever before. God healed their marriage! Jerry & I would like to challenge you to examine your relationship with your spouse, children, close friends and perhaps others and allow God to point out any flawed relationships. Perhaps you can heal some of them by ACCEPTANCE. Take time to praise God for the wonderful relationships you have, beginning with your relationship with HIM!
DAY 22
Do Something Drastic. “When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” (Luke 5:19) The crowd was keeping the friends of the paralyzed man from getting their friend to Jesus, so they tore a hole in the roof. I would say that was drastic! When your life gets over crowded, you can’t just make minor adjustment in your schedule and expect everything to be different. You must do something drastic because we tend to gravitate to an overloaded lifestyle. Many times because we live life in a hurry, busy, busy schedules, we don’t take time to be passionate about living for Jesus. If you knew you had one month to live, would you adjust your schedule and slow your life down? If the answer is yes, why not do it now? We need to ask ourselves, “What is really important?”
That is exactly what these friends of the paralyzed man did. They realized what was important. They knew it could be their last opportunity to get their friend to Jesus. As they tore the hole in the roof, they probably were not thinking they were going to have to pay for the roof. They were willing to do whatever was necessary to get their friend to Jesus. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be all that God wants you to be and do? Sometimes we get stuck on the roof worrying about “stuff” that does not have eternal significance. We focus on things that really don’t matter. These men removed the obstacles that stood in their way. We must be willing to do the same. We must decide what is really important. We have to do something to get out of the crowded lifestyle to live passionately for Jesus. We must set God as our #1 priority! Spend some time meditating on all that God has brought to your mind today. Record in your journal these things. Examine your life and identify what is “crowding” you from putting God 1st in your life. Set goals to remove obstacles, like the roof, in your life. Do something drastic!
DAY 23
Expect the Unexpected. Luke 5:18-20 and 24-26 (NIV) says “Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." …But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." We need to Expect the Unexpected---We prioritize our lives based on what’s important. We come up with a plan, but things don’t always go as planned. That is what happened with the friends of the paralyzed man when they brought their friend to Jesus. These men had this perfect plan to get their friend to Jesus so he could be healed. They had a plan, but when they got there they realized that things weren’t going as planned. They realized that there was no way they could get to the front door and get their friend to Jesus. They could have given up, but they didn’t!
Whenever your plans change, it is passion that makes you roll with the punches. You give it to God and you get creative and come up with a new plan. They got creative and went through the roof. Here the phrase “going through the roof” takes on a whole new meaning. When they lowered their friend down right in front of Jesus, Jesus did something unexpected. Verse 20 says When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." When they brought him they expected Jesus to heal him physically. We need to learn how to receive the unexpected. Jesus knew what was best for him. He needed spiritual healing even more than physical healing, so Jesus healed him spiritually first and then physically. Go back and read the passage of Scripture and think on this miracle. We need to ask ourselves, “Do I have the faith these men had”? Do I get discouraged when the unexpected happens or do I have passion to keep going and come up with another plan? If you are hurting spiritually, ask God to heal you.
DAY 24
Yesterday we looked at Luke 5:19 that says “… they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” They Created “God Space” to get before Jesus. Right in the middle of the crowd they created a space that wasn’t there so their friend could meet Jesus! A lesson we draw from this is that in the same way in the middle of our crowed, over-scheduled busy lives, we have to create a God space intentionally to meet Jesus. Mark 1:35(HCSB) says “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.” Even Jesus had to create space in his life, in his schedule and busy ministry so he could meet and speak with his Father. Using Jesus as the example for us, we should be challenged to create a space for getting alone with Jesus. You cannot do this driving to work or in the midst of others, but we need to create a space to be alone with God so we can read, meditate on the Scripture and hear God. Another lesson we see here is Jesus didn’t allow others to control his time. Too many times we allow others to crowd out the space we created for God. Do you allow this to happen?
Ask yourself “what can I do to not allow things and people to crowd out the space I created for God? The secret of maintaining your passion for God in a crowded world is spending time alone with him! You have heard it said and probably have said this to others and it is a true saying and kind of a cliché, but how true…”Keep your eyes on Jesus”. He knew what was most important and he had to make the decision to leave and separate himself from the crowd so that he could spend time alone with his Father! That is the secret of maintaining our passion in a crowded world. It is our responsibility to create a space to meet with God. It is also our responsibility to not allow anything to crowd that space out. There are times that come when we have no choice except to crowd out that space. The teaching here from Jesus is to not make it a habit of allowing things or people to crowd out the space we have created for God. When we focus on pleasing an audience of One, then our priorities become crystal clear and we live with passion! Meditate on the fact that if Jesus had to create a God space, how much more do we need to do the same! As you think on all this, write down the things that crowd your God Space and how you can protect that precious time.
DAY 25
The paralyzed man Kept A Constant Reminder of what Jesus did in his life. We keep reminders of events that happen in our lives, hether it be pictures, souvenirs, a lock of our children’s hair when they were infants, or other things. I worked as a city police officer until Becky graduated from college, then I went back to finish college and remained a police officer. I still have the revolver that I carried and it is a reminder of those years. I have sermon notes from one of the two pastors that God used to change my life and teach me the Word of God. They are both dead, but I have kept the notes as a reminder of them pouring their lives into me. My college, seminary and ordination certificates hang on the wall in our study. These are constant reminders of when I completed levels of education. In Luke 5:24 Jesus said to the paralyzed man“…I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." That small detail could easily be overlooked. Jesus could have said get up and throw your mat in the trash because you won’t need it again. But he didn’t do that. Luke 5:25 says “…Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” Why was this recorded in Scripture? Perhaps it would be a constant reminder for him that Jesus healed him. Maybe Jesus was saying, let it be a reminder to you of the day I healed you. Maybe the man put the mat up in his house and every day when he would walk by it and smiled and thought how Jesus healed him spiritually and physically and he would never need this mat again!
We need a constant reminder to live our lives in a way that we would if we had only one month to live. What that reminder is will be different for different people. One reason I journal and encourage other people to do so is that I often look back over the years of my Quiet Time journals and see what God was doing in my life at a particular time. I just looked back on April 16, 2014 and the Scripture was Eph. 6:14-18 and this is a portion of my notes I wrote on that day: “As I think on these verses in today's QT, I think of what I need to do. I must guard my mind and think on the things of God. I must continually renew my mind to think on the things of God. I must love God with all my MIND.” I just looked back in my journal and read my notes for the past few years, so you see that my journal notes are a constant reminder of what God was doing in my life on these days. What reminders do you need to have to take you back to special spiritual experiences? Spend some time meditating on the special spiritual experiences you have had over the years. What are the high lights and why? Read Psalm 150 and rejoice in Him as you read it. Praise Him as the Psalm says and pray it back to Him! HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!!!!!!!
DAY 26
Jesus Loved Completely. Matt. 22: 39 says “… Love your neighbor as yourself…” John 13:34-35 (HCSB) adds “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus showed us the greatest example of love when he went to the cross. If you knew you had only one month to live, how would you change the way you love? Would you need to build or repair some bridges? If you died today and Jesus said to you, “I am sending your back to earth to mend some relationships,” who would you need to mend your relationship with? Is there anyone that comes to mind? If so why not do that today? For us to love the way God tell us, we need the power of Jesus. 1 Cor. 1:18 (NLT) says “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.” Whether it is a marriage, friendship or family member, there are many mountains we have to climb in order to love some people. Loving others will remind us to work through problems that arise, and not avoid seeking the solution. Loving completely as Jesus did will enable us to be obedient to his command of loving others.
Matt 18: 15-17 (NLT) says “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” Read, identify the principles, study, then apply them to any situation in relationships that may arise. If we as Believers would do this we would have much less difficulties in our life and in the church. This is just another example of how the Bible is the “Handbook of Life”. It is the manual that God has provided for us to live by. If we follow its instructions, we will LOVE COMPLETELY. Take time today to ask God to reveal any relationship in your life that need to be mended and take action today to take care of it.
DAY 27
Many times Misunderstandings are what cause problems in relationships. Many relationships don’t have the power to climb over the mountains of the misunderstanding. In any relationship, those misunderstandings can pile up a like mountain higher than the crest of the Sandias! This is true in marriages also. Remember in a marriage, most of the time opposites attract one another! Speaking of mountains, the first one we have to conquer is the mountain of “Me First”, which is probably the greatest problem in relationships. What is your attitude? Is it “my way” first? Or is it others first? The Philippians apparently had a problem because the Apostle Paul wrote this in Phil. 2:3 (NLT) “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” If we want to have the same attitude of Jesus, we must put others ahead of ourselves. Relationships are not for wimps. It takes dependence on the power of Holy Spirit. His power supply is unlimited and the Bible throughout reveals strategies for learning to love completely! We must depend on the instructions from the Handbook of Life—The Bible! Take time to meditate on your relationship with God, family, friends, coworkers, business associates and others. Stop and praise the Lord for all the relationships that you have, beginning with your relationship with Him. Write out anything that God brings to mind, whether it be a relationship that needs to be worked on, or your joy in the relationships you have that are a blessing to you.
DAY 28
Another important strategy that should come first is Acceptance. Romans 15:7 (NLT) says “Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.” To accept others means that I must stop trying to change others and try to understand them. I yield the keyboard to my wife Becky for her to share her thoughts on this.
(Becky) As a word of testimony I must say in our early marriage, I spent several years trying to change Jerry. I am not sure that I tried to change him as much as I asked the Lord to change him. Oh, I am sure I tried in subtle ways to get him to change, but one thing I discovered (and wives I am sure you can relate to this),you don’t hint to a man and hope he will get the message. It doesn’t work that way. You have to sit him down, take his face in your hands and look him in straight in the eyes and say this is what I think or this is what I want to happen. Hints just don’t work! One day after several years of marriage and begging the Lord to change him, the Lord said to me, “You don’t worry about Jerry, concentrate on changes you need to make and leave him to me”. I had been dwelling on the negative in his life so much that I couldn’t see the good qualities. So, I sat down and made a list of his good qualities and put it in a place where I could see it often. I watched God work in Jerry’s life and change him and that was a big step in God healing our relationship.
I recalled Phil 4:8 (NLT) which says,” And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” In other words, I had to come to grips with what every married person has to realize, that we have to receive our spouse as God’s special gift to us. We have to accept one another cheerfully and gladly. We have to love completely. A sign of not having accepted someone is that we are still trying to change them. We have counseled with couples that have been married for many years who have never really and truly accepted one another. I remember we counseled a couple who were about to the point of divorce. Once they discovered the fact that they had never really accepted each other and were dwelling on the negative things about each other and not the positive, and settled a few other problems, things really changed. They have been happier in their marriage than ever before. God healed their marriage! Jerry & I would like to challenge you to examine your relationship with your spouse, children, close friends and perhaps others and allow God to point out any flawed relationships. Perhaps you can heal some of them by ACCEPTANCE. Take time to praise God for the wonderful relationships you have, beginning with your relationship with HIM!
