Zondervan Inspire

He Wants You to Be with Him

From the Editor: This picture reminds me of some of the children I ministered to in El Salvador two summers ago. It was amazing to watch them respond to God’s love.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

Jesus places a high value on his relationship with us. How high a value? He died on the cross to make a relationship with him possible (see John 15:13). He wants us to be with him where he is for all eternity (see John 17:24). Look again at these two facts, and let them overwhelm you for just a moment: He died for you. He wants you to be with him.

The way in which Jesus values his relationship with us is one of the greatest motivations for pursuing stronger relationships with each other. John puts it this way: "Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other" (1 John 4:11). Read More from This Book.

 

From The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay

 

A Place to Belong

From the Editor: Today’s photo reminds me of when I was back in college and attending a small group for college and career singles. That was an important part of my life then, just as being part of a community of believers is an important part of my life today.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

We desire to be included in fellowship with God and with others. We long to belong. This desire is about community. We long to be a part of something larger than ourselves. It helps us feel that we are not alone and gives us a sense of well-being.

God includes us in fellowship with himself and with his Son Jesus through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:50). He also said, "Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20). Jesus tells us to include and welcome each other: "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me" (Mark 9:37). The apostle Paul tells us that we all have different talents and gifts but that we are part of the same body and that we belong to each other (Romans 12:5–6).

From The Seven Desires of Every Heart

by Mark & Debra Laaser

Avoid Drawing Blood

From the Editor: Good advice for us all.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith

Author Catherine Johnson wrote a book fifteen years ago titled Lucky in Love. She's a PhD who was determined to figure out what deliriously happy married couples were so deliriously happy about. So she interviewed them — about a hundred couples in all. She found that at some point along the way, every happy couple had come to a critical point in their relationship where they would vociferously disagree but refuse to destroy each other in the process. "When we quarrel (and we will!), we're not going to do the kinds of things that will damage this relationship long-term," Johnson quoted these couples as saying. "When we disagree, we will not draw blood."

The moment I read that phrase, I decided to put it into practice in my work as well as in my marriage. Because I have deep feelings about so many kingdom issues, I have been known to express myself very passionately in meetings. And as you probably know, passion can beget passion. Effective leaders do not fear passion. They welcome it. But from time to time passionate discussions digress into personal attacks, and real people get really hurt. In my view, leaders must head that off before it happens.

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?

Wired for Touch

From the Editor: Not only do I need to increase my exercise quotient, I could stand to increase my “hug” quotient, too! It’s amazing how something so simple as loving human touch can have such a profound impact.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

Have you ever watched a newborn baby? They cry and cry until they are picked up and held, and often just that skin-to-skin contact seems to comfort them. That desire to be touched stays with us throughout our lives. That's why a hug from a coworker is a great pick-me-up in the midst of a stressful day. It's why we hold hands at funerals. Our bodies are wired to desire this touch: a recent study by scientists at the University of North Carolina found that people who hug a lot have a lower risk of heart disease!

Once we were on a plane flying home from Korea. On the same plane was a proud set of parents who had just adopted a little girl. This cute little baby appeared to be several months old. We asked the father how old she was, and he said, "She's a year old." To our surprised reaction, the father said, "The orphanage where we adopted our daughter is a wonderful place, but they are short-staffed, and the babies spend lots of time in their cribs without being held." That is the power of touch and the problems the lack of it can create.

From The Seven Desires of Every Heart

by Mark & Debra Laaser

Healthy Relationships Maintain Balance

From the Editor: For task-oriented people like me, this is so important to remember.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

"God does not demand of me that I accomplish great things. He does demand of me that I strive for excellence in my relationships."
—Ted W. Engstrom, The Making of a Christian Leader

There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to do great things for God — and accomplishing great things for him. The problem is that it's just too easy to start doing the great things for yourself and not for him. It can happen in the blink of an eye. Service is then replaced with selfishness. We all struggle with selfishness, so how do we protect ourselves from letting our ego take center stage? That's where the priority of relationships comes in! A healthy relationship with God and healthy relationships with others have the power to keep our commitments to the things and the tasks in our lives from getting out of balance.

From The Relationship Principles of Jesus

by Tom Holladay

Loved Despite Our Errors

From the Editor: There really is someone behind the curtain at Zondervan putting these posts together. I'm planning to add a little commentary each time going forward to foster better understanding and hopefully stimulate a little conversation. If you're helped in any way by the posts you read here, then glory to God! There will be times you may disagree with all or part of a post. That's fine. Please express your thougths.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

When we do make mistakes, it can be difficult to talk to people about those mistakes because we fear that we will be judged. This can lead to isolation and loneliness — after all, we have all made mistakes, and part of the desire to be affirmed is the desire to be affirmed as struggling people in process, people who are loved despite our errors. Without the safety of knowing that we will be accepted and affirmed despite our mistakes, it can be difficult to ever confess our mistakes — to friends, or to God.

From The Seven Desires of Every Heart

by Mark & Debra Laaser

I Want to Be Heard

God wants us to talk to him, and we want him to listen. The Psalmist says, "I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me" (Psalm 77:1–2). In addition, God wants us to hear him: "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live" (Isaiah 55:3). In order to connect with God and with each other, we must talk to God and to each other — and we want to know that both God and other people hear us, because being heard is a clue that we are fully known.

From The Seven Desires of Every Heart

by Mark & Debra Laaser

Any comments or testimonies today?

Path to the Greatest Life Possible

God created you for relationships. He made you to relate to him and to others. Miss out on relationships, and you're missing the core reason for which God put you on this planet.

Jesus knows full well that the swirling wonder and pain of our relationships tempt us to move them down our priority list. "Who needs this?" we say, and so reduce our lives to simple hobbies, tasks, and entertainments. That's not the answer! When I try to make less important that which is truly most important, it only causes more confusion. A life without relationships may well be a simpler life, but it is also an empty life. The path to the greatest life possible and the greatest joy possible is found in the priority that Jesus taught us to keep at the top of the list: Place the highest value on relationships.

From The Relationship Principles of Jesus

by Tom Holladay

Any comments or testimonies today?