Overcome Fears Holding You Back: Realize Your Full Potential
You are a special creation with a unique gift to share. Don’t allow fears to hold you back:
We live in a consumer-driven society, and it’s very easy for us to see the church as something that serves us. We already have our hardware store, our grocery store or maybe a farmer’s market, an appliance store, a place we buy clothes. We decide what we might need and go looking for that. Unfortunately, we approach a church exactly like that.
I’m going to turn that on its head because I firmly believe that every Christian should have a ministry. God speaks of us as a holy nation, a royal priesthood for his own possession. Yes, we should attend a church that has a great doctrinal stance, but its a place we can reach out to others.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,
Did you notice that God doesn’t want us to get proud or self-centered? Instead, he wants us to focus on what we can give to the body.He gave every believer a spiritual gift and God wants us to use that right where we are. We are an essential part of the church body as a whole. We aren’t the whole body, but if we don’t function, the body would be handicapped, just like you’d be if you lost an eye or a foot. Your gift is essential and brings a needed skill to the body of Christ that only you can give. What a great prescription for emotional health. Valuable but not the most important!
Cynthia Cavanaugh wrote Unlocked: 5 Myths Holding Your Influence Captive. She’s going to share how we can find our ministry.
2:00 What are you trying to address in this book?
3:20 How did Rahab manage to lead from a place of uncertainty?
Tie the Knot—-Permanently: The key to wedded bliss
My guest, Rob Green talks about preparing to tie the knot and keep it tied. In other words, what actions can we take to get married and stay madly in love?
Most of us women have a romantic side. We love the idea of Cinderella, wedding dresses, flowers, and the happily ever after. But today many marriages don’t last. That’s not God’s plan. Look at this passage in Luke. “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”
This passage speaks of preparing ahead of time before building. Any of us would educate ourselves before we started a business. You’d never think of offering your skills as a seamstress or as a book keeper or a nurse unless you studied and prepared. I believe the same holds true of marriage. Marriage is the first institution God founded, and we know from Ephesians that the relationship between a husband and wife is an analogy for Christ and the Church. Entering marriage should be sacred, and our vows held as sacred. Many today think too lightly of marriage or don’t even bother to marry. Some are even fearful of marriage and decide to live together instead.
Rob Green
My guest offers hope. Rob Green is a counseling pastor, and he shares his experience with lots of couples who struggle to hold it together. Listen to his interview for answers:
Find problem-solving strategies 18:34.
1:52, Rob shares why it’s important to be committed to Christ.
Are you afraid of marriage? 5:57.
The world loves a romance. Go to 7:28.
Access tools to love and serve your spouse? You’ll find that at 9:25.
What about submission? You’ll hear Rob’s answer at 11:35
You may have heard that joke if the mother’s not happy, nobody’s happy. How true! The wife, the mother creates the atmosphere of the home, and a peaceful ambiance provides the best place for everyone to thrive. Katheryn von Bora, also known as Katie Luther, the wife of the Reformer, gave us a fabulous example. She created a boarding house in Luther’s former monastery, and she purchased farms to provide for her family, staff, needy beggars, and students. In the context of the dinner table, Luther discussed Scripture around the dinner table, passing along a legacy of his faith. Students later published these as ‘table talk’ giving insight to the next generation. What what an impact she had. How can our lives have such an influence?
The Bible gives a description of a Godly woman in Titus 2:5. “. . .self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” How interesting God mentions us ‘working at home.’ Today that’s not popular. Our culture demands we have some separate profession because just being a wife and mother is beneath us. Certainly the lady in Proverbs thirty-one had several, but she worked out of her home. “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Women have varied gifts, but God designed us as nurturers to play a key role in the lives of our husbands and children. Who else should we trust to raise our offspring?
Pat Ennis is my guest today. She directs the Home Economics Department at Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Her book, God is My Strength, deals with many issues wives and mothers face today. Listen to her insights on creating a peaceful and nurturing atmosphere in your home.
Marriage. That word brings all sorts of thoughts and images to mind. Some are bad and others wonderful. However, since God created it, let’s go to the beginning of time and look at the original plan. God created Adam and asked him to name all the animals. After fulfilling that assignment all day, Adam realized he didn’t have a mate. (What a great teaching technique.) No one corresponded to him. Imagine his delight when God showed up with Eve. She was taken from him. Amazing! I bet she was pretty, and I wonder if she wore a flower in her hair. Either way, Adam probably felt overwhelmed.
Right away God performed the first marriage and then blessed the new couple with a job. He gave them dominion over the earth and the power to have children. Adam understood. He called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all living. The children they had formed the first family.
God’s purposes for mankind still centers around the family. It’s no wonder Satan targets marriage. If he destroys that, so many other things tumble down. The families of the next generation suffer as well as businesses, churches, and nations because people get hurt. Just think, how many people tell stories of their dysfunctional home or difficult childhood. These people have a multitude of issues to overcome because of the damage in their formative years. Yes, the Lord can heal, but it’s a good idea to work at building our marriages.
How can we strengthen our marriage so it truly bestows life to our spouse and our children? Sue Detweiler is my guest. She has written a book on this topic, and she’s going to give us some clues by sharing a few of her own struggles.
Today’s media overwhelms us with talk of the sensual side of love. Clothing, perfume, toothpaste, and other merchandise will help you achieve‘sexy’ or ‘hot.’ TV and movies depict unmarried couples engaging in sex as if were no more important than lunch. As Christians, we believe sex belongs in marriage. The world might see our convictions as negative and prudish. But, on the positive side, since sex belongs in marriage, we should embrace and encourage sensuality in that context.
Years ago when I was shopping with my girls, I stopped to admire a fancy nightgown. One of my daughters looked horrified and commented that only a prostitute would wear such a garment. I knew right there it was time for a lesson, and I said,”Don’t ever call a married woman a prostitute.” Looking back, I probably came on too strong, because she frowned and walked off, rolling her eyes. But that’s a message the church needs to give to married couples and our young people. We should be shouting a big yes when we discuss sex after the ceremony.
I encourage women to be careful about relationships with men other than their husbands. Hormones work well. Things can make things get out of hand and create problems. I tend to be a little distant or even a little cold in that situation. Often I’ll address the man’s wife if she’s present. However, a woman can and should let go with her hubby. Come on, ladies. Flirt a little. It’s fun and appropriate. Check out Song of Solomon 1:2 where Solomon and his wife talk about their love for each other:”Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.”
Many of us, however, get a bit stuck because of our self-image or a painful past, but there’s hope. Shannon Ethridge is my guest for Valentine’s Day. She has geared her entire ministry toward helping women get past their hangups and enjoy sex.
Shannon Etheridge
To learn more about Shannon and her ministry, click here.
Women today are very busy. We all carry cell phones and have access to Facebook, Twitter, texting, Instagram and Pinterest and other social media. in addition to all our family responsibilities, we pack our calendar with activities to benefit out children and use our microwaves to prepare quick meals. Most of us don’t set aside much time to rest, even though we like the thought. I find it interesting that God talked about rest in the early chapters of Genesis, and it’s a huge theme in Scripture.
I believe God knew how crazy our lives would become. He talked about rest in the early chapters of Genesis. It’s a huge theme in Scripture. Consider Genesis 2:2. “And on the seventh day God finished his work, and he rested on the seventh day.” Take a moment and think about that. God doesn’t need anything, yet he rested once he completed the creation. I don’t think he rested because he was weary. God doesn’t get tired. Instead, he wanted to show us a pattern, a balance of work and rest. I really need that.
This was a typical day for me when my children were young: a crying child woke me in the morning, and I hurried out of bed to get breakfast while his sibling hung onto my housecoat whining. Another maddening day. I stopped a squabble while trying to pay bills and then hurried off to an appointment while watching kids poke each other in the back seat. Ballet, Bible study, runny noses, a hasty lunch, a child who won’t stop crying from a minor injury. Fifteen text messages and three phone calls. The postman needed my signature. All day I ran nonstop and then fell into bed and stared at the ceiling, wishing for sleep. I’d think about resting and laugh.
Does that sound like you?
Yet Hebrews 4: 9-10 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” What does God mean by Sabbath rest?
Today I have Gwyn McCaslin as my guest. She’s going to give us her thoughts on rest.
Gwyn is a counselor in Sugar Creek, Ohio. Learn more about her here.
