Genesis 2:24 is often quoted in regards to marriage, and it states that a man and a woman will become one flesh. 

I always pondered with that as I asked God questions like "Does this mean you literally see us as one?"  Then God began to give me a revelation.  The final revelation He gave me was the Roman Numeral III.  (This philosophy can also easily be applied to the Trinity.)

I am a Roman Numeral I, and so is my wife.  When we came together in marriage we didn't conform into a single Roman Numeral I, but we became a Roman Numeral II.  The Roman Numeral II is one number, yet it consists of two numbers.  Just like our marriage unites us as one, yet we are still two people.  There is only one problem with a marriage that brings two together as a Roman Numeral II... and that problem is that there is no room for Jesus Christ.

In a true Christian Marriage, the couple should become a Roman Numeral III.  Christ will be in the middle.  While Christ, my wife and I are all Roman Numeral I's, as we are binded in the name of Christ we become a single Roman Numeral III.  Christ must be in the center of our lives and our marriage, therefore he is the Roman Numeral I in the middle.  He holds us together in a spiritual bond, and because of His spiritual nature we are together no matter how far we are apart.

This is just something God popped into my head and I wanted to share it with all of you.  Take care, and God bless.

Hi,

  I need help. I want to know how will I get this girl to like me.

Hi Spectre,

The quote above sums up the main idea of your post.  The most important thing for you to realize is that there is nothing you can do to get this girl to like you.  Ultimately, only God can do something like that.  I used to get so nervous around girls that I'd either have to take some time immediately after seeing them or I would throw up.  Talk about embarassment.  Then eventually I had to accept that there was nothing I could do to get a girl to like me.  I had to accept that only God can bring two people together.  At first it was a really odd feeling, like I felt helpless.  Then it hit me!  Every time I meet a girl I screw up, so if God is going to take over then I should be releived.

It wasn't long after that that I met the woman who would become my wife.  Sure, we have our problems and sometimes I'd like to bang my head off of the wall a few times; but ultimately I know God is in control.

God bless!

[The Church Issue]

Hey everyone,

I normally do not like to post long posts so I'll keep this one as brief as possible.  I am seeking advice from Godly men regarding some situations that have arised in my life since I got married early this year.

After I came to God it felt like I had issues like stress and anger mastered.  I really felt the power of God move in my life and the results were incredible.  Some things that happened could not be explained outside of the supernatural and I was completely swept off of my feet by God's willingness to prove His existence somebody like myself.

The story of how I met my wife itself could easily be credited to divine intervention.  When we met there were literally 3 other ways we could have met during that same time.  It was evident that God put us together.

The Church Issue
When my wife and I met I was going to a small and quiet church in a neighboring town.  She was attending a ministry which puts most of it's focus on recovery from drugs and alcohol.  I began going to her ministry on Tuesday nights and Friday nights.  I was invited to the Tuesday "Bible study" by one of her friends.  The Bible Study is really an AA / NA kind of meeting where they go through maybe a paragraph of the Bible and then discuss how they got off of drugs and alcohol.  Me... I've never even tried drugs or alcohol.  So of course I felt out of place.  On Friday nights they held a Christian Coffee House.  The first time I went my wife had the announcing duties and in between she'd hang out with me.  Every time after that when I went I barely saw her. 

Our basic Friday was like this.  She'd go from work to get her children from daycare (2 of them), take them home and rush them out to the Coffee House where she had to get things ready.  The kids were rushed so much they barely knew what was going on.  Then she would want me there around 5:30 or 6:00 so I could be there with her.  The coffeehouse opened at 8.  I would sit there and do nothing until almost 11:00 and most of the time I was there alone with nobody to talk to.

I just sucked it up and tried to convince myself that I had a problem because I was not being patient.  I began seeing that her pastor and his wife were very controlling and extremely brutal when it came to the people they took under their wing.  They would tell them what they had to do to be a Christian.  What did they have to do?  Help with the Coffeehouse on Fridays (be there early, clean up after close), attend and help out with Sunday service, attend Tuesday Bible study, and go to a Bible college on Thursdays at another Church.  My wife was doing all of this on top of her AA / NA meetings.

I decided because she had more commitments to this church and she was there longer, I would leave mine and begin attending hers shortly before we got married.  BIG MISTAKE!!!!  It was like I poured my anger and bitterness into a huge glass and it began to crack after a while.  The more it cracked the more it came out until it finally just shattered.  I began to HATE it there.  I began to HATE my wife's pastor and his wife.  I felt like I was robbed of what I once had.  But STILL I tried to convince myself it was MY FAULT.  Then I finally realized that even if it is my fault there's nothing there for my step-kids.  So I found a new Church.

This Church has something for all of us and is our new home Church.  After attending there my wife's pastor contacted her and said I manipulated her into leaving her calling and that he was upset she seeked advice from another pastor. We also seeked advice from him but he didn't listen to us.  He sat in our living room and talked for 2 hours straight without even taking consideration to what was going on in our lives.  I was very upset and didn't want her involved with these people at all. 

Earlier God told me he would take care of it, and I just should have trusted him.  The ministry will stop doing Sunday services this coming January.  The problem is that these people (the pastor and his wife) still have an uncomfortable hold over some people in their ministry.  These people are calling my wife and complaining and they are SO lost because of these 2.  I feel like I should do or say something, but I don't know if it's out of anger or righteousness.  Also, should I be concerned with my wife's continued involvement with these people even if it's minor?


Anger, Stress

There's a recovery group around here known as "Saturday Nighters."  They are an extremest group of people who go as far as convincing sick people to stop taking meds which has resulted in suicides.  They tell people to sell their cars, their houses, or anything that might remind them of drugs.  If you did drugs 10 years ago in the house you live in and you convert to their group, they will aggressively hound you to sell it just to show their way is the way.

This group is one of just a few that almost tore my family apart when I lived with my parents as my dad is involved with recovery.  My mother even seriously considered suicide once because of issues that arised because of groups like this in the house.  Ready for this?

In order to save some confusion I'll use first names here...
My wife's name is Jessica, and her friends name is Kristy.  Kristy is the one who introduced me to Jessica.  Kristy recently married a Saturday Nighter.  What are the odds?  When Jess and I got married Kristy was the maid of honor.  On the night she was supposed to be helping decorate for our wedding guess where she was?  She was planning her wedding out which would not happen for another 7 months.  She could have found a better time to do this.  I didn't make a big deal out of this at all.  Kristy also neglected a few other duties and people at the wedding even said she was very selfish.

Then Kristy's wedding came up.  She gave my wife a TON of responsibility.  Kristy had 2 bridal showers, "team meetings" for her wedding party for months leading up to the wedding, and by the time it had ended Jess had spent over $200.00 and offered sacrificed a ridiculous amount of time helping out with this thing.  Worst of all, Kristy had my wife paired up with a Saturday Nighter.  Now not only was I dealing with all of the anger, stress and anxiety of the present... but also the past.

About this time I snapped... I mean SNAPPED!  I told my wife and also them that if that guy touched my wife I would kill him.  I said a lot of words I shouldn't and I almost did some things I would be in prison for today.  I lost sleep night after night and I could barely eat.  My insides felt like they wanted to jump out of my skin.  Finally they agreed that my wife would not dance with him.  My wife (knowing she didn't have to) at the last minute decides she wants to anyway and figured she'd just leave me.  When I found out not only did I have to deal with the fact that she was arm and arm with somebody who belongs to a group that almost tore my family apart, but she also lied to me.

It took a lot of work, but I was almost back on my feet.  Months later my dad lashed out at the Saturday Night group calling them out on their extremest ways.  Kristy's husband responded with a few others by cussing at my father and giving him the finger.  My dad is about 120 lbs and 50 years old.  Of course this upset me.  Shortly after Kristy's husband asked my wife to speak at a Saturday Nighter meeting.  Of course she agreed because she "didn't know it would upset me."

After back and forth fights resulting in me losing my temper to the point of punching through walls... I finally agreed to have her do the meeting after she had promised me multiple times she would NEVER associate with Saturday Nighters again.  That day I called Kristy's husband's cell phone (which he challenged me to do at an earlier time stating he would come after me) and I challenged him to do just that.  I told him after this meeting he better "      " and I just lost it.

The Results

Today my main regret is knowing that I fell so much after coming to Christ.  Even today God is showing me that he's still in my life and providing in incredible ways.  I love Him, and I want to serve Him better than I have been.  I don't want to be built up by the power of the Holy Spirit only to turn around and slap Him in the face.  No doubt, I want these groups of people to stay out of my life.  But I want to do it in a way God would approve of and a way that would even give Him glory.  I believe part of this will require a sincere amount of obedience on behalf of my wife, but she is very rebellious which often triggers my now seemingly uncontrollable temper.  Can anyone relate to this, and if so.. what advice can you offer?

Thanks for the read, and God bless.

Sujo John, a Christian survivor of the World Trade Center attacks made a very vaild point.  He said we can only take one thing with us when we go to Heaven, and that's "People."

Why is it that we train for gold medals and trophies that will rust and corrode, but we don't train to go out into the world and win "People?"

In these last days we as Christians voice our opinions in an attempt to fight secularism in our country and ultimately in our world.  We fight to get prayer back into schools and to ban abortion and homosexual marriage.  If we are fighting for a Christ centered world the Bible says we are going to LOSE!  The book of Daniel clearly states that the events of the end times will come after the power of the Holy people has finally been taken away.

So what should we do?  Just give up.  No way.

Instead of fighting for a Christ like nation, we should desperately fight to win people over for the Kingdom of God before it's too late.

I encourage my Christian brothers and sisters to support eachother (myself included) in finding the courage and strength to bring as many people as possible to Christ.

I'd appreciate any further thoughts or elaborations.

Kutless - Without a doubt Kutless rules the Christian rock world.  Songs like Your Touch, Let You In, Tonight and Treason have sounds of hard guitar and intense bass.  On the other hand, songs like Sea of Faces, Strong Tower and Grace and Love have a softer sound that gives both thanks and praise to our Father in Heaven and the son he sent to die for our sins.

12 Stones - 12 Stones can be seen on MTV2 and are probably most popular for their work with Evanescence on their single "Bring Me To Life."  The lead singer of 12 Stones, Paul McCoy is the one who says "Wake Me Up!, I can't wake up!  Save Me!" in the chours to the song.  Songs like Crash, Broken, and The Way I Feel are strong recommendations for any lover of Rock music.

Jeremey Camp - Jeremy is a solo artist who has a similar sound of the bands above.  A good example of his hard rock sound is "Lay Down My Pride", and my favorite softer songs are "I Still Believe" and "I'll Take You Back."

Pillar - Pillar has a very strong presence with their music.  It's all hard, beat a guitar over my head kind of music that is sure to pump kids up and motivate them.  Only with Pillar, they're motivating them to do things like go to Church with songs like "All Day Every Day" and to lead God's people with songs like "Frontline".  Frontline has been adopted by the Acquire the Fire ministry as their themesong for their youth movement "Battlecry".

Thousand Foot Krutch - I've only heard a little from these guys, and while they don't mention the name Jesus in any of the songs I've heard, it's very obvious that their songs are in fact about our Father and our Savior.

I'm not a big fan of Rap music at all, but I'm a big fan of KJ-52.

His most popular song is a song entitled "Dear Slim" where he basically uses the concept of Eminem's song "Stan" to witness to Eminem.

Many of KJ's songs glorify God, others are sure to catch a laugh and some just give you a sense of releif as he's saying what you've been wanting to say from day one.

In his song "Washed Up" he sings about how his career is over because VH-1 put him in the 40 Worst Hip Hop Moments count down stating that things like Rap Music and Jesus Christ don't mix.  In the song KJ sarcastically talks about how he should sing about drugs and killing to sell millions instead of doing something that the children can look up to.  He also sarcastically says that rapping about Jesus is such a bad thing to do because he broke the 'hip hop rules.'

KJ-52 dives head first into today's culture and takes the word of God to today's youth in a way that they can not only understand it, but enjoy it.

A song I'd recommend for anyone is "Never Look Away."  KJ-52 sings as if he is the theif on the cross hanging next to Jesus.  The beginning of the song talks about how he's a lowly theif and eventually how he feels terrible realizing the he deserves to be crucified but the man next to him is innocent.  He then comes to a realization that Jesus is who he says he is and repents.  Here's some of the lyrics.

"I once was lost, but then you found me loved me.
And I'm never gonna look away, no I'm never gonna look away.
You paid the cost.  You showed me how you loved me.
And I'm never gonna look away, no I'm never gonna look away.
Away.

Now who am I?  Some theif nobody cares about.
The kind that runs up in your house and steals your jewels and couch.
Been on the run for so long but the caught me now.
They hung me on this cross I'm on and I see the crowd.
But next to me is someone who I heard about.
They say he heals the blind and lame but I got my doubts.
So what's his name I can't remember, someone screamed it out.
Said it was Jesus but this man he didn't make a sound.
He hung there breathin' with the blood runnin' down his mouth.
He had been beatin', crown of thorns now was on his brow.
See what I've done is just the reason why I'm hangin' now.
But this man is innocent and I can see it now.
I said 'Jesus are you listen'?  You hear me now?'
'Remember me just on the day you bring your kingdom down.
I wanna change my ways I really want your freedom now.
He took my sin away and this is why I say it loud.'

Chours.
I

In no particular order...

1. The Second Chance (Michael W. Smith)
The Second Chance is about a "rich whitey" pastor who basically had life handed to him.  He belongs to a highly successful Church known as "The Rock."  His life is turned upside-down when he is told that he must begin helping out at The Rock's sister Church "New Beginnings."  New Beginnings is located in a neighborhood full of prostitution and drugs.  The Second Chance is a real eye opener, has some funny moments and reminds us not to get lost in God's gifts of prosperity.

2. The Gospel (Omar Gooding Jr.)
The Gospel is about a young man whose father pastors a high energy, prodominately african american Church.  When his mother dies and his father does not arrive in time to see her, he blames both his father and the Church.  He then goes out and starts a successful R&B career with songs like "Take off your clothes."  When his father becomes ill he returns to his home and finds himself again serving the Church.  He struggles as certain situations confuse him when it comes to God's will.

3. Waterproof (Burt Reynolds)
Waterproof is a small prodminately African American town in the middle of nowhere.  Burt Reynolds plays a slightly bitter and sarcastic old man who owns a small store in the city.  A young boy trying to impress his gang member friends accidently shoots Burt's character.  His mother soon finds him standing in the street with a gun and takes Burt to the town of Waterproof where her parents live out of desperation.  When Burt comes to his senses he finds himself in a strange town that lives by a completely different culture which is nothing short of weird to him.  It's absolutely hilarious watching Burt adjust to the lifestyle around him.  The Christian family he is staying with suffer with the pain of having unsaved children.  The movie is full of hope, humor and touching moments.

4. Joshua (Kurt Fuller)
Joshua is about a man who suddenly appears in a small town and begins performing a number of good deeds.  Among these good deeds he carves a statue of St. Peter for a local Church and begins rebuilding another which was knocked over in a bad storm.  Local priests begin accusing him of being a false prophet after he heals a blind woman during a revival.  What are his intentions?  Are there any strings attached in his good deeds?  Who exactly is he?  Joshua is one of those "feel good" movies full of laughs and good moments.  The end is a bit of a suprise, but I'm sure most of you can figure it out as the movie progresses.

5. The Left Behind Series
Okay, I know.  It's not as good as the books.  While the way the events of the tribulation appear in the movies (and in the books) is up for debate, I don't enjoy this series for it's Biblical accuracy in regard to prophecy.  Rather, I enjoy watching a group of Christians facing INCREDIBLE persecution and overcoming it to serve the God that they love.  The salvation scene in Left Behind: World at War was enough to bring tears to my eyes and spark a hunger in me to lead others to Christ.  While I always encourage people to understand Christian movies are not Biblical substitues, they are a great source of motivation.  I love the series!

I saw this movie a couple of times on TBN. 

This movie is obviously a low budget film and about 85% of the movie focuses on a simple dinner conversation.  That sounds pretty boring, but believe me it's not.

Basically a man claiming to be Jesus Christ invites an every day woman to dinner.  The athiest woman spends the entire dinner trying to stumble the man by showing him that there is no God, there is confliction in the Bible and so on.  The man constantly comes back with strong answers that make her doubt her disbelief.

A really funny moment comes when the goes to the restroom to let everything sink in a little and she says to herself in the mirror "This guy is telling me he's God."  A voice from a stall then says "They all do sweetie.  Don't believe him."

By the end of the film you find that not only has the man in this movie crushed the doubt of this woman, but also any doubt you may have had before you began watching the film.  While some of the answers the Jesus character gives could be up for theological debate, the majority of them are simple and speak straight to the heart.

There's a little suprise at the end after the man walks the woman to her car, and while it's without a doubt one of those 'feel good' moments we'll leave the ending for you to see yourself.

But I have to say this movie is a movie worth watching and definately one showing to your friends (whether they believe or not.)

Thanks for the post Bob.

Please forgive me if I repeate something that somebody has already said, but this subject has been on my heart for quite some time.

Joel Osteen's preaching is what initially brought me to God.  The problem is that I came to God for all of the wrong reasons.  Thankfully situations in my life at that time showed me I wasn't as 'righteous' as I once thought and that we are all sinners.

Instead of just saying it myself I want to quote Ray Comfort from "The Way of the Master" episode "Hell's Best Kept Secret."  He told a parable that really got my intention.

Lets say that life is a flight.  2 men are among many others on an airplane.  The first man is handed a parachute and told that it will improve his flight.  The second is handed a parachute and is told that the flight will eventually crash and it is the only thing that will save his life.  When the men put the parachutes on everyone begins to laugh at them as they are the only two wearing them.  The first man not only is deeply affected by the persecution, but he also notices that it is very uncomfortable when he sits back down.  He struggles for a while and finally he realizes that whoever gave him that parachute is a liar.  So he takes it off and throws it to the ground!  The second man is so greatful that the parachute will save his life he barely notices the persecution or the discomfort when he sits down.  In fact, one of the flight attendants spills coffee on his leg.  Instead of throwing the parachute to the ground, he clings to it tighter and looks FORWARD to the jump.

Basically, The Bible makes it clear that we will endure tests and persecution as Christians.  If we tell people "Jesus will give you everything you want and make you happy" then people will turn away from him as they endure tests and persecution.  However, if people realize the kind of sins they've committed against God and are told that Jesus Christ is their only means of salvation; they will cling to Him and look forward to their time with Him.

Friends, the Gospel message is simply this.  The Joy that Jesus Christ talks about comes in following Him.  Not because He will buy us a new car if we do.  The Joy that Jesus Christ talks about is the Joy of Salvation, not the Joy of having a nice big house.

Will God reward you, no doubt!  But what greater reward is there than the one that awaits us in Heaven?  What more can we ask for than the saving grace of Jesus Christ?

Hey everyone.

I just wanted to stop by and say "Hello."  I've been a Christian for almost 2 years now.  While I can say it's been an up and down struggle, I'm more than happy to know the Truth that is Jesus Christ.

The first Church I considered home was a Baptist Church in a surrounding town.  The body was tight there and everyone knew eachother.  It was a great place to establish a Christian foundation.  After that I began attending a different Church as my wife was an assistant pastor there.  She works with girls in recovery (alcohol and drugs) and the ministry where she preached a Christ centered recovery center.  Unfortunately there wasn't much there for myself or my step children...

Our new Church home is a Church that I'm very proud of, Cherry Tree Alliance Church.  There's a little there for anyone and there's a lot I personally enjoy about the Church.  My wife enjoys it as well.  Best of all they got a TON of stuff for the kids to do.  The kids attend a 'cub scout-like Bible program on Wednesday nights called "Awana."  I believe it's available to any Church so I'm sure some of you have heard of it before.  They LOVE it.

Besides that we run a website called TryHim.org.  I read the rules and figured it would be okay to post the link as it's not exactly an organization but rather just our personal attempt of bringing people to Christ.  If you run a website I would definately recommend checking out the stuff they have here for Webmasters.  I really like the "Daily Bible Story" javascript code available here at ChristiansUnite.

Currently I've been struggling to find a new job as I'm a newly wed and we just bought a house.  Besides that I'm going through some spiritual struggles as well, but in the end I know it will all pay off if I continue to seek Christ.  I look forward to getting into some discussions with all of you and getting to know many of you as well.

Thanks for reading, and it's good to be here.
God bless.