FAMILY

How should I prioritize my responsibilities with work, service and family?

God's Response:
Standing near the cross were Jesus' mother, and His mother's sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother standing there beside the disciple He loved, He said to her, "Dear woman, here is your son." And He said to this disciple, "Here is your mother." And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
John 19:25-27

Those who won't care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith.
1 Timothy 5:8

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him
Psalm 127:3

Our Takeaway:
Even when Jesus was dying on the cross, He was concerned about His family. He delegated the responsibility for caring for His mother, Mary, to John.

Your family members are gifts from God, and He wants you to value and care for them. Neither Christian work nor key responsibilities in any other job or position excuse you from caring for your family. What can you do today to show your love to your family?

God Challenge:
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Isaiah 58:7-8

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
How should I prioritize my responsibilities with work, service and family? The key word here is prioritize, but there is also a huge missing component in the authors criteria of priorities!

Our first fruits, our very best, our greatest commitment above all others, must be given to God! Can you imaging what life would be like if we were to abandon the Loving Savior of the world - just look around! God wants the first portion of our time. He wants us to prioritize our time around Him and in such a way that He is at the top of our agendas - our priority #1.

Let's start by taking our Sunday's out of the equation for just a minute. Other then Sunday when are we spending time alone with God? How are we spending time with God Monday -Saturday? These should be a few of the priorities that we are intentional about everyday in order to grow towards spiritual maturity:

• Quite time... Alone time between just you and your Divine Creator, Jesus Christ (Luke 9:23)
• Study time... Learning about Him; learning of His instruction through His Word
• Prayer time... Take some time to thank Him and share your heart with Him (Mark 1:35)
• Meditation time... Take time to internalize and listen to to God speak to you (Proverbs 8:34)
• Memorization time... Calling His Truth and Promises to memory (Psalm 119:9-11)
• Action time... Take time to put legs and feet to what the Lord shares with you (Galatians 5:13-14)

The key is being intentional! Next time you set down to plan out your next months calendar of events and begin to portion out and allot your time, consider adopting these relational priorities the best you can:

#1 priority is God; list everywhere on your timeline where you are going to practise the things listed above; make time for Him and give Him your best. #2 priority is your wife or husband; fill in every spot on your calendar where you are going to make time for spending quality time with the mate in which you have been blessed. #3 priority is your children; they desire alone time with us, it is their greatest joy to have our time, time that is allowed specifically for them. #4 priority is work; everywhere you have space left for after you have been intentional about giving your time to priorities 1-3, should be used to prioritize spending time working and utilizing the spiritual gifts which we have been given.

The first time I laid out my time schedule with this mindset, I thought, "this is never going to fly". The second thing I thought was, this is completely opposite of what is acceptable and right by any worldly standard.
Acts 17:11

In the world we have been conditioned to wake up; rush to work; work as long and hard as humanly possible to make the greenbacks sufficient to pay the bills and live the most successful and extravagant life style possible. If we have any time or energy leftover when we get home, we pull up a couch, grab and 10 minute gourmet meal; turn on the television and spend some quality time with our favorite American idols, who done it on CSI or one of those bad housewives. Before you realize it, Saturday rolls around and we're beat down from our exhaustive work week and it's time to just relax and catch our breath, right? Wrong!

We haven't gotten to a our list-of-lists: wanna-do-list, honey-do-list and gotta-do-list. Saturday was just a vapor, it's now Sunday morning and it's time to squeeze in a Sunday church service in order that we may remain in good standings with God and continue to hold onto our spiritual status of - Christians...

God doesn't want to be squeezed into your already busy schedule, He wants to be made part of your busyness! The biggest part! Take time to make time for Him before you do anything else, because if you don't you're just like me - you won't! Not because we don't want to, we just get too busy to take-the-time to make-the-time...
James 4:13-14

Priority and balance are the key factors in making this work. Believe me, He will allow it to work! Invest your time and service in Him first; then in your marriage; then with your children and last but not least, in your work - And then leave all the consequences up to our Divine Creator... You will be amazed by the life altering impact that spending your time in this manner will have on your life.
Psalm 68:19

He is our greatest priority, make Him part of your busyness!

WISDOM

Can I be wiser?

God's Response:
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!" Solomon replied, ".... Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know that difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of your?"
1 Kings 3:5-9

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
James 1:5

Our Takeaway:
When given the opportunity to ask God for anything he wanted, Solomon asked God for wisdom... "an understanding heart" - in order to lead God's people well and to make right decisions.

You can ask God for this same wisdom. Notice that Solomon asked for understanding to carry out his job; he didn't ask God to do the job for him. Don't ask God to do for you what He wants to do through you. Instead, ask Him to give you the wisdom to know what He wants you to do and the courage to follow through with it.

God's Promise:
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey His commandments will grow in wisdom
Psalm 110:10

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I think the key to the wisdom that God has prepared for each one of us can only be fulfilled by spending time with the Master; by seeking Him in all things, and for all things in our daily lives.
Luke 9:23

I believe that each day is made new with exactly what God would have for each one of us and that when we are obedient to His Will for our lives that He equips us with exactly the amount of wisdom, strength, courage, patience, resiliency that we require to carry out the good works that He has prepared for each one of us beforehand. Hence, resulting in a great day of being evenly yoked with Christ to carry out and bear the fruit from the spiritual gifts He has blessed us.
2 Corinthians 9:8

On the flip side of this equation, I think when we are not spending time with... lingering around...abiding in... we allow independence to creep into our lives and that we are shorted the exact amount of what we need to carry out the works that are placed in our paths; He allows us to fail or come up short. When we don't have the sufficient amount of what only God can supply us new each day, we realized our complete dependence on Him again and we begin asking, knocking and seeking His endless supply of resources of all we need to do all He asks.
James 4:13

I guess what I am saying is that independancy leads to insufficiency and Christ dependency leads to an endless supply of all His resources wisdom, strength, courage, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Matthew 7:11

Sufficiency is faith in knowing that God always meets us right were we are and He gives us exactly what we need. It's not necessarily something you can measure...

• It's a way of being...
• It's a way of seeing...
• It's a way of living...

all for the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ in our every moment of our existence.

What does spending time with God look like? There are two key components: His Word and Prayer. Spend time in His Word allowing Him to speak to your heart. Praying without ceasing, spend time thanking Him for all He does in your life and let Him always be on your mind.

SEEDS

I just try to do whatever makes me happy, so why is my life such a mess?

God's Response:
Don't be misled - you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
Galatians 6:7-8

The tongue can bring death or life, those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
Proverbs 18:21

Our Takeaway:
It would certainly be a surprise if you planted corn, and pumpkins can up. It's a natural law that you reap what you sow. Every action has consequences. If you plant seeks of gossip, you will lose the trust of your friends. If you plant seeds only to please your own desires, you'll reap a crop of sorrow, confusion, and possibly even disastrous outcome. If you plant seeds to please God, you'll reap joy and confidence in all circumstances and in the end, everlasting life. What kind of seeds are you planting?

God's Challenge:
I said; "Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your heart, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you".
Hosea 10:12

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
Several thoughts on this subject in which I consider myself an expert and not in a prideful way believe me! Unfortunately you wouldn't want to sow the seeds of my old self-reliant, self-centered ways. I understand the question perfectly as it rings so clear as to what the world instructs us to do and who to be if we what to be happy. An it's all about us being happy, right?

• The one with the most toys wins...
• The only one that's going to make you happy is you...
• Money won't buy you happiness, but it's a great down payment on it...
• If you want success, you got to go out and take it...
• Only the strong survive...
• The strong get stronger and the weak get weaker...
• Toot your own horn because nobody else is going to to it for you...

Everything the world teaches us directs everything to "Self". We are to seek the world to be self-suffiecient, self-reliant, self-centered, self-seeking, self-gratifying, self-absorbent, self-motivated, self-made; self-righrighteous, self-help, Self-disiplined, self-confidence, self-dependent, self, self, self...

First word of advise if you have a desire to follow God, lose all the words in your vocabulary that begin with "self" and replace them "God", or "Others" All the words above were descriptors for the old man I once was just a couple years ago and I thank God everyday that this man is dead!

Once God helped me to set aside the "I'", "Me" and "Self" and start putting myself last, my life started to become that full, abundant and complete life we all desire. A close brother gave me an acronym that always stuck with me: J.O.Y. (Jesus) fist... (Others) second... (Yourself) last...

We were created by Him and for Him. We have all been created for service and we have all been equipment and blessed by the Holy Spirit with one or more unique spiritual gifts or talents. Sure we can go out in the world and use these talents to do great worldly things and sometimes God allows this to happen, for a while any way. You can even product produce fruit indepentant of God, it's just no worth eating!

John 15:1-11 illustrates this perfectly, these are truths that we need to guide us, not the lies the world would have us believe.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedesser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit". "

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me".

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned".

"If your abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples".

"As the Father love Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be complete".

We are to do everything through the guidance and strength of Jesus Christ and not of our own strength or understanding. Again, we can produce good looking fruit independent of God, but it's plastic and is good for nothing.

Our Creator knows best... So trying harder to be happy isn't even possible, we can only truly find happiness In Christ Jesus, He is the source of our Peace, Joy and Eternal Happiness - The Way, The Truth and The Life....

Let go and let God....

TROUBLES

If I obey God, will He keep troubles from coming into my life?

God's Response:
The Lord asked satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless - a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil." Satan replied to the Lord, "Yes but Job has good reason to fear God... Reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!" "All right, you may test him," the Lord said to satan. "Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically." So satan left the Lord's presence.
Job 1:8-9; 1:11-12

Our Takeaway:
Job was a model of trust in God and obedience toward Him, yet God permitted satan to attack him in an especially harsh manner. Although God loves us, our faith and obedience do not shelter us from life's calamities. Setbacks, tragedies and sorrows strike Christians and non-Christians alike. But in our troubles, God expects us to express our faith to the world.

How do you respond to your troubles? Do you ask God, "Why me? or do you say "Use me!"

God's Promise:
No one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion because of the greatness of His unfailing love. For He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.
Lamentations 3:31-33

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I like to think that Job was the exception to the rule, perfectly faultless, a righteous man of God, a man after God's own heart, and yet God used him to prove to satan that His servant Job would remain faithful even through some of most impossible trials any human could endure.

I have had people along my journey tell me, "Tony, don't worry, God will never give you more than you can handle". Obviously, taken out of context from (I Corinthians 10:13). It actually reads, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is to common man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it". Were not talking about temptation; we're talking about unbearable, tragic, earth shaking, hold on for your life - is there really a God out there, type troubles!

I can assure you from my own experiences as well as those of close brothers and sisters in Christ, that this verse has absolutely has nothing to do with God testing us or the trials he allows in our life.

God can, will and does put more on your plate then we can endure. Believe that! God warns us straight out in (John 16:33), "In the world you will have trouble" and Paul tells the disciples in (Acts 14:22), "We must endure many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God".

We can't lose sight that the gentle Kingdom of God and the vicious kingdom of darkness are competing for the same territory. We have forgotten that God makes disciples and displays His purposes by pressing His people into shape and refining them in the fire. It can be a violent process we must, can and will endure...

It is human nature to avoid trials and it is Godly nature to persevere through them. They have an indispensable purpose in molding and forming us into the greater image of Christ, who, as we recall, had to suffer like no other. Establishing the Kingdom of God in Christs name was a traumatic event for Him. Entering the Kingdom of God in His name is traumatic for us as well.

One of the problems is that in many of the mega churches we see on television today (businesses), and the messages that they are sharing with the world, is not the truth!

The gospel message is being hazed over by these evangelists who are preaching the message of prosperity and happiness. People are being lured to God because they think that by accepting Christ, He will take all their problems away - If I became a Christian I can escape all the trials and tribulation of this cruel world - Wrong! Unfortunately this is what many Christians are believing today and is the mentality of many... Fist time they have some real hardship is their life they think God has abandoned them; we know this couldn't be further from His truth.

Life isn't going to be a bowl of cherries, it's a hard, cold and wicked world out there and there are no easy streets. Life by His Divine design is experiencing trials, troubles, trauma and the hardships of this fallen world and ultimately enduring them; it's an integral part of His tried by fire sanctification process.

God love us and doesn't particularly want us to endure a life of hell here on earth, if fact He sent His Son Jesus so that we wouldn't have to endure the eternal pains and sufferings of hell. Don't pursue trials, but don't flee from them in a panic, either. God is doing something profound in them, either to shape you or to demonstrate His Kingdom. Patiently let Him...

The truth we can all stand on today is the other half of (John 16:33), that I didn't share earlier, "In the world you will have trouble, but in me you can find peace; be of good cheer, I have overcome the world".

VALUES

What is a good way to measure how much I value Jesus?

God's Promise:
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin - a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ had done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Philippians 3:5-8

Our Takeaway:
After Paul had considered everything he had accomplished in his life, he said that it was all "worthless" when compared with the "infinite value" of knowing Christ. This is a profound statement about values: A person's relationship with Christ is more important than everything else.

Knowing Christ should be your ultimate goal. Consider your values. Do you place anything above your relationship with Christ? If your priorities are wrong, what steps will you take to reorder them?

God's Challenge:
When You discipline us for our sins, You consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath.... Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire you more than anything on earth.
Psalms 39:11; 73:25

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I love the transparent illustration and example Paul has blessed us with above, he says: " I consider all these things as rubbish"... Paul lays down his pride, his good but fleshly works, his very heritage and everything he has ever held close to his heart. He shows his willingness to humble himself and count it all as dung in order to have a healthy and intimate relationship with His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - to walk by the Spirit verses walking in his own flesh.
Philippians 3:4-8

I think the greatest way to measure how much we each value Jesus is to not measure at all, because we will always fall short. But I guess if we have to measure the best way would not be in some simple one line answer and we could start by asking ourselves the greatest question of all: "Do I love the Lord my God with ALL my heart, with ALL my soul, with ALL my mind and with ALL my strength?

Okay, this is why I didn't want to measure, it's like being called out on the carpet or opening that can of worms. So now that we have, let's ask ourselves:

• How do I spend the majority of my time?
• Where do I spend the majority of my money?
• What do I value above all things?
• What are my greatest desires in each day and in life?

I'll stop there, but the list could go on and on... I think we can begin to measure how we value Jesus by these few simple questions.

How do I spend the majority of my time? It only took me 46 years (I know, it doesn't take me long), to figure this one out, but I finally realized that Jesus loves to spend time with us! So that's why we go to church on Sunday, right? Wrong! This isn't Gods idea of time... He wants our best... Our first fruits... Of course He enjoys our time on Sunday, but He's also asks for our time and praises on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday - He wants all of us all the time!

Full-time employees yield a full-time returns of investment, part-time employees are only capable of yielding a part-time return. Jesus is only interested in full-timers, Kingdom Builders that are yielding a 100% ROI; there is no place for part-timers in Gods Kingdom!

Where do I spend the majority of my money? Again, I was a quick study, it only took me about 47 years to figure out, that money and time typically walk hand and hand with each other... Where we spend our money is more times than not, where we invest our time. A couple thoughts here. First, Jesus doesn't have any interest in your money and contrary to popular belief neither do Gods churches... Secondly, there is no "my money", it is all "His money", He owns it all, every last penny!

You may disagree like I first did, and say Nope! "I earned that money with my own hard work, my own hands and the sweat off of my brow." The truth is, you only were able to earned the money because the Holy Spirit blessed you with one of more Spiritual gifts and God put plenty of opportunity in your path... Besides all this, 1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us that "we were bought with a price to glorify God"

So if we were bought with a price, and we were... and if God is our creator, and He is... He owns it all, the money, the house, the cars, the boat, the toys, the wife, the kids, you name it he owns it, all of it... yep, every single thing! He owns the cattle on a Thousand hillsides and He has entrusted us with every single thing we have. He loves us and doesn't mind us having nice things, but again He wants our best... Our first fruits... Our hearts, our mind and our souls...

We measure how much we value Jesus by spending time with him; by lingering in his presence and talking with him; by studying and seeking Him in His Word; by practicing His presence everywhere we go, listening and waiting on His answer in all thing...

The value comes with being intentional about Jesus and putting Him first, making Him your highest priority above and beyond all things in life. Allowing Him to be who He is in and through each one of us independently and uniquely. To be a representative for Christ, the ambassador that He created in each one of us when He breathed out our DNA; as He knitted us in our mothers womb and as he counted each hair on our heads.

Measure how much you value our loving Savior Jesus Christ by tracking:

• How you're spending your TIME...
• Where you're investing your TREASURES...
• For whom do you use you're TALENTS...
• How do you share you're TOUCH...

The four T's can help you measure how much you value God, use them all for His glory and honor today... We were created for Him and by Him for just a time like now, He is counting on all of us today!

BELONGING

What are some of the privileges of belonging to God?

God's Response:
Those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again!
Isaiah 16.19

Now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are His heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Galatians 3:29

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united to Christ.
Ephesians 1:3

Our Takeaway:
Belonging to God carries so many privileges. It means you are no longer enslaved to sin; you can overcome it. Belonging to God means you can be certain that you can overcome it. Belonging to God means you can be certain that you will rise from the dead, live eternally with God, and received all that God has promised His people in the Bible. Here on earth you can experience peace of heart, comfort Christian friendships and the fulfillment that comes from knowing you are doing what God has created you to do. The privileges of belonging to God are countless, and the more you give yourself to Him, the more you will discover and experience them.

God's Promise:
The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.
Deuteronomy 33:27

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
Belonging... Scripture tells us in I Corinthians 6:20: "we were bought with a price". It is completely unfathomable to me, the love of Jesus Christ for His creation; that our Father God loved us so intensely that He gave His Son to the Cross in order pay our debt and to draw us back to Him - WOW! We are His creation and His possession and have been bought and paid for in full.

I love the many truths that surrounding us regarding the privileges of us belonging to God. I just want to share a few of these and just spend the morning resting here.

"Privilege" would be an understatement by comparison - if we could took every descriptive word imaginable, or ever spoken from the human languages around the world; and if we could add them all together to create one single all-powerful, all-descriptive word... it couldn't begin to compare or illustrate the blessings that we have inherited in belonging to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!

• John 1:12 - We are children of God.
• Colossians 2:10 - We are complete in Christ.
• Ephesians 2:18 - We have access to God through the Holy Spirit.
• Galatians 2:20 - God has taken up residency within us.
• John 15:15 - We are a friend of Jesus Christ.
• Ephesians 2:10 - We are masterpieces of Christ.
• Colossians 1:14 - We are redeemed and forgiven in Christ.
• Philippians 4:13 - We have the strength of Christ and can do all things.
• Ephesians 2:10 - We are his workmanship.
• 2 Corinthians 6:1 - We are co-workers of God.
• Matthew 5:13-14 - We are the salt and light of the earth.
• Acts 1:8 - We are personal witness of Christ.
• Philippians 3:20 - We are citizens of heaven.
• Colossians 3:3 - He are hidden with Christ in God.
• Ephesians 1:1 - We are saints.
• Ephesians 1:5 - We have been adopted by God.
• Romans 8:35-39 - We can not be separated from the love of God.
• 2 Timothy 1:7 - We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power and love.
• Ephesians 3:12 - We may approach God with freedom and confidence.

I don't know about you but after reading this list of Gods Truths, I feel elevated about 4 inches off the ground this morning. The beautiful thing is that this list doesn't even begin to explain or represent all the privileges we have in Christ - His love and the gifts and treasures we have In Christ are unimaginable and unmeasurable and beyond human perception.

Our greatest privilege beyond all things and His greatest gift to us, is the direct and intimate relationship He desires with each of us! The relationship He made possible through His shed blood on the Cross; the complete Victory and Freedom He provide for all who will accept His gift!

You are Significant... You are Accepted... and You are Secure In Christ!

LONELINESS

Am I alone in my stand for God?

God's Response:
Elijah replied, "I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your alters, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
1 Kings 19:10

Our Takeaway:
Elijah thought he was the only person left who was still true to God. Lonely and discouraged, he forgot that others had remained faithful during the nation's wickedness. When you are tempted to think that you are the only one remaining faithful to a task, don't feel sorry for yourself. Self-pity will dilute the good you are doing. You may feel alone right now, but be assured that even if you don't know who they are, others are faithfully obeying God and fulfilling His call for their lives.

God's Challenge:
Since we are surround by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I can't relate to the Elijah and the loneliness and deserted feeling that he is describing in I Kings 19:10. One of the greatest blessings and gifts that Jesus Christ has given me are the neighbors He puts in my path, the daily relationships that He allows to surface and develop on this incredible journey.

When I gave this some thought this morning, I just sat back and praises Him for the relationships in my life and how un-alone I truly am.

Starting with my relationship with my wife, which at one time was broken and empty and now God not only restored it, but He continues to hone it and strengthen us in Him daily. Deeper than strengthening, as he has planted Himself around us and blanketed us with His love and passion, it is as if we are joined together as three. The relationships with my children are blossoming in love, trust and understanding through intentional investment of time, communication and being there to nurture and help them find their way by explaining Gods greatest desires and purpose for our lives.

I am blessed to still have both of my loving parents and three brothers, all of which are beautiful treasures in my life. I was raised with a core value of that "family" is our greatest gift in life and should always come first.

My relationship with my Pastor and church family are joyful beyond measure, constantly developing and growing as time and transparency are invested. There is no other place I would rather be than at my church with my family - our Sundays are our greatest treasure.

The relationships in my men's groups are especially wonderful, C-12, Wednesday Group, Crossroads, my Emmaus Family - Wow... I can't begin to tell you or describe to your how important these relationships are in my life. To have all these brothers in my life is completely overwhelming to me - they give life purpose, they bring me strength and they define what being a man is all about. These men are greater then friends, they are my mentors, they are my confidants, they are encourager's, they are truly one of the greatest blessings in my life... These men are Gods children and together my family and His body.

Again, if real estate is all about localtion...location...location, then God our Heavenly Father is all about relationship...relationship...relationship!

Our greatest gift is each other... The relationships God plants in our life. We have a choice to allow Him to grow and blossom these relationships or to allow them to wither and fade away with time and grow lonely.

Value others... God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes. But He also sees our value. What did Jesus know that enabled Him to do what He did? Here's part of the answer, He knew the value of people. He knew that each human being is a treasure. And because He did, people were not a source of stress, but a source of joy.

Galatians 5:13-14: "My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as and excuse to do what pleases your sinful self. Serve each other with love. The whole law is made complete in this one command: Love your neighbor as you love yourself".

Hebrews 10:24: "Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds".

1 Peter 5:5: "In the same way, younger people should be willing to be under older people. And all of you should be very humble with each other. God is against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble."

John 13:1, 4, 5, 15: "Jesus knew His hour had come to leave this world and return to His father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of His love. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples' feet and wipe them with the towel He had around Him. John 15:13 - "I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done.

In my opinion, this one of the greatest illustrations of a relationship in the eyes of God. The entire scriptures are about relationships so what can be greater?

Take time today to ask God to help you repair, grow and develop all the relationships He has blessed you - Relationships are our greatest gift from Him!

Our greatest gift is a direct relationship with Jesus Christ...