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#64: Strength In Gentleness
Let your gentleness be known to all. (Philippians 4:5)I’ve heard it said that words hurt like punches. When we first hear that said, we feel regret because we realise how many “punches” we have hit each other with over the years when we spoke mean or insensitive words. We have thrown many a sarcastic remark…
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#62: To Urge Forward And Positively Toward A Goal
Encourage one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) Encouragement, one of the true blessings in a relationship, means urging another to persist and persevere toward a goal. It means to stimulate another person to show love and good deeds. Encouragement looks like calling your spouse on his or her “big day” just to say, “I love you…
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#61: By What Authority?
Speak these things and rebuke with all authority. (Titus 2:15)True exhortation is grounded in God’s authority – the Scriptures. Pushing my opinions or advice on my spouse may be giving advice or even nagging, but it is not exhortation. “Exhortation with all authority” as it is stated in today’s Scriptures, is becoming familiar with the…
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#60: That Which Hurts, Instructs
He who heeds the Word wisely will find good. (Proverbs 16:20)It has been said that there are three rings in marriage: the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering. Many of us become disillusioned when we encounter the difficulties and problems inherent in married life. When we hurt, many of us tend to believe…
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#59: Diet Coke Wars
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4) Many of our fights are over trivial selfishness for e.g. over cool drinks, what to order at a restaurant, how to…
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#58: What To Say When We Don’t Want To Talk About It
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (Proverbs 25:11 ESV)Let’s face it. Sometimes we’re just grumpy. Things didn’t go well with our boss or our kids. We had to fight traffic on the highway or in the car parking not finding a place to park. A coworker said…
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#56: Receive Grace, Then Share It
From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. (John 1:16) Grace can’t be earned or deserved. It can’t be demanded or claimed as a right. It is a gift, freely given by a Giver who has an endless supply. Gratitude is one telltale sign of a recipient of grace,…
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#52: Honored By The Gift Of God’s Son
You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold… but with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19) The power of words is one of those mysteries only heaven will reveal. Our words have the power to bless and to curse. Only humans, created in His image, have been entrusted with such…
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#26: Lost In The Middle Of Your Own Parenting Style (Part 8)
Owner or Ambassador? Today we look into the last area of distinguishing between the two styles. 4. REPUTATION: what tells people who you are and what you’re about.OWNER: Owner parents unwittingly turn their children into their trophies. They tend to want to be able to parade their children in public to the applause of the…
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#21: Lost In The Middle Of Your Own Parenting Story (Part 3)
Owner or Ambassador? This week we ponder on the Ambassador style. The word that the Bible uses for this intermediary position is Ambassador. It really is the perfect word for what God has called parents to be and to do. The only thing an ambassador does, if he’s interested in keeping his job, is to…
RBW FAMILY MINISTRIES 