Young Adults & Relationships ( Dating )

This Saturday, I attended the seminar hosted by the SA team from Eshowe.

Find below some of the topics we discussed during the session.


YOUNG ADULTS & RELATIONSHIPS
MOSTLY BASED ON A RELATIONSHIP SEMINAR BY
Dr. David Molapo and wife Dr. Mamiki Molapo


8 WRONG REASONS to be in a relationship
1. Pressure

2. Age

3. Loneliness

4. Desperation (dangerous as you end up compromising your values)

5. You are on a rescue mission

6. You are starving for sex

7. To get over a previous lover

8. You do not have hunger for God


7 little facts on the dating game
1. Pursue God and not a man/ woman

2. Don’t be anxious to get married

3. Look for God’s timing

4. Go fishing in the right pond

5. Develop the qualities you seek in a mate

6. Don’t try to make/ force/ buy a relationship

7. Cut your losses early


Ten commandments (of dating)

1. Thou Shalt have a life

2. Thou Shalt Use your brain

3. Thou Shalt be equally yoked

4. Thou Shalt take it slow

5. Thou Shalt Set Clear Boundaries

6. Thou Shalt Save sex for later

7. Thou Shalt not fall for Sex Lies

8. Thou Shalt not ignore Warning Signs

9. Thou Shalt choose wisely

10.Thou Shalt take action


What women want (in a relationship)

Faithfulness
Leadership
Respect
Family Man
A provider
Honesty
Communication
Sense of humour
Romance
A Godly man

What men want (in a relationship)
• Recreational playmate
• Beautiful wife (internally and externally)
• Committed home-maker
• They want to be admired
• Sexual fulfilment
• A woman of moral virtue
• Sense of humour
• Intelligent woman
• A supportive woman
• To be treated as a King


How to treasure your spouse
1 Corinthians 13 LOVE
T -Think positively about your spouse
R -Respect your spouse
E -Enjoy your spouse (Do things together, Proverbs 5:18)
A -Attend to your spouse’s needs (before your family’s)
S -Shield your spouse (Protect one another)
U -Understand what your spouses’ needs are.
R -Romance (flowers, songs, dinner, movies, etc)
E -Edify (educate & inform) one another.

Jesus ... Who is He ?

IN CHEMISTRY, HE TURNED WATER TO WINE;






IN BIOLOGY, HE WAS BORN WITHOUT THE
NORMAL CONCEPTION;






IN PHYSICS, HE DISPROVED THE LAW OF
GRAVITY WHEN HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN;






IN ECONOMICS, HE DISPROVED THE LAW
OF DIMINISHING RETURN BY FEEDING 5000 MEN
WITH TWO FISHES & FIVE LOAVES OF BREAD;






IN MEDICINE, HE CURED THE SICK AND THE
BLIND WITHOUT ADMINISTERING A SINGLE DOSE OF DRUGS;






IN HISTORY, HE IS THE BEGINNING AND
THE END;






IN GOVERNMENT, HE SAID THAT HE SHALL
BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, PRINCE OF PEACE;






IN RELIGION, HE SAID NO ONE COMES TO
THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH HIM;
SO ... WHO IS HE?











HE IS JESUS!

JOIN ME AND LET'S CELEBRATE HIM;





HE IS WORTHY.





THE EYES BEHOLDING THIS MESSAGE SHALL
NOT BEHOLD EVIL,





THE HAND THAT WILL SEND THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYBODY SHALL NOT LABOR IN VAIN,





AND THE MOUTH SAYING AMEN TO THIS PRAYER SHALL SMILE FOREVER.
REMAIN IN GOD AND SEEK HIS FACE ALWAYS.
AMEN





The Greatest Man in History ...
Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.
He had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

I feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us!

If you believe in God and in Jesus Christ His Son, then send this to all on your buddy list. If not, just ignore it.
If you ignore it, just remember that
Jesus said ... "If you deny me before man,
I will deny you before my Father in Heaven."



Amen.

Four Wives

Please Read it to the end...


Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms.
However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's first wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply,
he hardly took notice of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me,
but when I die, I'll be all alone."

Thus, he asked the fourth wife,
"I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No!", replied the fourth wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the third wife,
"I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No!", replied the third wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the second wife,
"I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the second wife. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go."
The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives:

Our 4th wife is our body.
No matter how much time and effort we lavish in
making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

Our third wife is our possessions, status and wealth.
When we die, it will all go to others.

Our second wife is our family and friends.
No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our first wife is our Soul .
Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go.

Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now,
for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue being with us throughout Eternity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thought for the day:
Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees! You' re in the perfect position to pray.

Today GOD Is First

TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman
And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant. - Exodus 14:31

What makes an effective Christian leader today? Is it charisma? Is it ability? Is it communication and oratory skills? God's view of an effective leader has nothing to do with these qualities. They may be a part of an effective leader. However, the core attribute of a Christian leader is his integrity with God and his obedience to follow Him. When this happens, God manifests His power in and through that leader. Moses was effective because he was willing to obey the commands God gave him. When Moses did this, God manifested His presence in him. The result was that people followed. They followed because they saw God working in and through the man. They saw that this man was worthy of following because God's anointing was on him.

When people see the Lord's power manifested in your life, they will have a healthy fear of the Lord. They will look at you and say, "This person has something I don't have that is worthy of more investigation." Your challenge is to seek the Lord with a whole heart, resulting in God's power being manifested in the daily activities of your life. When this happens, you can expect others to be drawn to what they see in you. The problem with many Christians today is that non-Christians see nothing different about the way they live to motivate the unsaved to desire their faith.

What makes you different from your neighbor? Is your experience with God noticeably different from that of the man next door? If you're not experiencing regular encounters with God, it's time to ask why not. We don't live day-to-day for the next spiritual experience, but we should see by-products of a life centered in God that is reflected in fruit from His presence in our lives.

This is beautiful...

She jumped up as soon as she saw

the surgeon

come out of the operating room. She said: "How is

my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can

I see him?"


The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we could,

but your boy didn't make it."


Sally said, "Why do little children get cancer?

Doesn't God care any more? Where were you,

God, when my son needed you?"


The surgeon asked, "Would you like some time

alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out

in a few minutes, before he's transported to the

university."


Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she

said good-bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly

through his thick red curly hair.


"Would you like a lock of his hair?" the nurse

asked.


Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the

boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to

Sally. The mother said, "It was Jimmy's idea to

donate his body to the University for Study. He

said it might help somebody else. "I said no at

first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after

I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend

one more day with his Mom." She went on, "My

Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of

someone else. Always wanting to help others if he

could."


Sally walked out of Children's mercy Hospital for

the last time, after spending most of the last six

months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's

belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The

drive home was difficult. It was even harder to

enter

the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings,

and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her

son's room. She started placing the model cars

and other personal things back in his room exactly

where he had always kept them. She laid down

across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried

herself to sleep.


It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Laying

beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The

letter said:


"Dear Mom, I know you're going to miss me; but

don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop

loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say I LOVE

YOU. I will always love you, Mom, even more with

each day. Someday we will see each other again.

Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you

won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can

have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you

decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't

like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy

her dolls and stuff girls like, you know. Don't be

sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place.

Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got

here and showed me around some, but it will take

a long time to see everything. The angels are so

cool. I love to watch them fly. And, you know

what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures.

Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus

himself took me to see GOD! And guess what,

Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him,

like I was somebody important. That's when I told

Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you

good-bye and everything. But I already knew that

wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God

handed me some paper and His own personal pen

to write you this letter. I think Gabriel is the name

of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to

you. God said for me to give you the answer to

one of the questions you asked Him 'Where was He

when I needed him?' "God said He was in the

same place with me, as when His son Jesus was

on the cross. He was right there, as He always is

with all His children.


Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see what

I've written except you. To everyone else this is

just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool? I have

to give God His pen back now. He needs it to write

some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I

get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm,

sure the food will be great.


Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore.

The cancer is all gone. I'm glad because I couldn't

stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to

see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent

The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel

said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?


Signed with Love from God, Jesus & Me.


(Let's see Satan stop this one.) Take 60-seconds

and repost this, within the hour, you will have

caused a multitude of believers to pray to God for

each other. Then sit back and feel the Holy Spirit

work in your life for doing what you know God

loves

"When you're down to nothing, God is up to

something."

Three Trees

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

The second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

The third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees.

When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter," and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.
One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree, so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenter's, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do.
The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped.
At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill.

When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things do not seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts.
Each of the trees got what they wanted, but not in the way they had imagined.
We do not always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

May God Bless you, this day... and every day...