Following Christ English

Our relationship with God is dependent on a number of things. Our first connection to God is through His Word. There is no more direct way to connect with God than through the pages of the Bible. We also connect with God through prayer, worship, and in service to others. Below is a collection of blog posts that will offer suggestions to help develop your relationship with God. I encourage you to scan through this list and pick a post that resonates with your heart. Spend a few minutes reading the devotional blog post of your choice and then spend the rest of the day meditating on the thoughts God brought to your mind during your study. I pray that you will find something here that speaks to you in a meaningful way. May you be greatly blessed by your time spent developing your relationship with God. Play to Win . Our relationship with God is something that needs to be constantly developed, practiced, and improved. We need to play to win. Reconnecting with God. Your

8) Ask God to Change You. As soon as you begin offering prayers of thankfulness for your spouse, be sure of this: the enemy of your soul and the would-be destroyer of your marriage will remind you where your mate falls short. You can count on it. You’ll find yourself growing resentful: “Why should I thank God that my husband works hard when he comes home and won’t even talk to me at night?” “Why should I thank God that my wife has always been faithful to me when she’s so critical?” You need to respond to this temptation with a healthy spiritual exercise: as soon as you recall your spouse’s weaknesses—the very second those poor qualities come to mind—start asking God to help you with specific weaknesses of your own. That’s right—as backward as this may sound, respond to temptations to judge your mate by praying for God to change you. Go into prayer armed with two lists: your spouse’s strengths, and your weaknesses. This exercise will help maintain a positive spiritual balanc

7) Form Your Heart through Prayer. It’s one thing to know I’m supposed to respect my spouse, but it’s another thing entirely to do it. Can I retrain my heart? Can I spiritually form my mind to accept them as they are? Yes, I can. Prayer can be a very practical tool in this regard. Simply practice praying positive prayers for your spouse. Find the five or six things he or she does really well—or even just one or two!—and try to tire God out by thanking him for giving you a mate with those qualities. Follow up your prayers with comments or even cards that thank your spouse personally for who he or she is. I’ve practiced this with my wife. One morning I awoke early and immediately sensed my frustration from the previous evening. We have an issue in our relationship that we had talked to death over the previous two decades. Lisa acknowledged her need to grow in this area, but events of the previous weeks had convinced me that nothing had changed. I felt resentful, and in my res

1) Accept the Reality of Human Relationships. James 3:2 lays out the human condition as clearly and as succinctly as anyone can: “We all stumble in many ways.” Think about the impact of the words “all” and “many.” What James is telling us is that if you were to divorce your spouse, interview two hundred “replacement” candidates, put them through a battery of psychological tests, have follow-up interviews conducted by your closest friends, spent three years dating the most compatible ones, and then spent another forty days praying and fasting about which one to choose, you’d still end up with a spouse who disappoints you, hurts you, frustrates you, and stumbles in many ways. The word “all” means there are no exceptions. A new spouse might stumble in different ways, but he or she will still stumble. This is the reality of human relationships in light of sin. Your spouse is human; therefore, they stumble—and not just once or twice, but in many ways. Once I accept that my spous