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I’ve noticed in life that some people appearing to lack inner peace are the most prone toward trying to impress others.

It seems that they’ve embraced the fallacy that impressive or dramatic external actions are the key to unlocking the inner door to a restful heart.

But there’s a big problem with the lie that external merit assures internal peace.

We are trapped by the performance-based acceptance. Our worth is seen as based on what we do, not who — or whose — we are.

We become contract-minded people who see relationships as deals to be effectively managed rather than as gifts of worth based on the person, not the performance.

Not God’s way at all.

Listen, there’s a great lesson in 2 Kings 5:1-19 (click here) for us in our relationship with God and with other people. It’s not about impressive actions but instead about an expressive trust.

In this story, the focus of the trust is God.

In our relationships, the focus should be on becoming a person who can be trusted to always be gracious toward others, valuing them not because of impressive deeds but instead because of a desire for expressive love.

As always, I love you
Martin

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Here’s a marvelous dose of encouragement that can energize our optimism for life and relationships with others…

“Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble” (Psalm 138:6)

Let’s always choose humility in our dealings with others and in our willingness to seek God’s mercy for our mess-ups.

It’s one of the best ways to show that we know who He is and who we aren’t.

As always, I love you
Martin

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This story I found called “The Gold Box” really moved my heart when I shared it yesterday as part of my Father’s Day 2017 sermon. Perhaps it it touch your heart as well and remind you of why we should be very careful before we speak….

Dad had come home from a hard day at work. He had washed his hands and went looking for his little girl. He came around the corner and there was his 3-year-old daughter wrapping a box with some gold paper his wife had purchased for a friend’s wedding gift.

Money was hard to come by and he snapped at her when he saw his little girl trying to decorate a box for no apparent reason.

The next evening, the Dad had settled into his favorite chair, when here came his little girl. She had a big smile and in her hands was the box wrapped in the gold foil. She held out the box and said, “Daddy, this is for you.”

The Father felt bad about the way he had reacted the previous day and eagerly opened the box. The frustration returned when he saw that the box was empty.

He found himself snapping at her again, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside of it?”

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “O Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy”.

The father was crushed. He reached out and put his arms around his little girl, and he asked her to forgive him.

The man kept that gold box for years. Whenever he was down, discouraged or upset, he would take out the box, open it and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the precious little girl who had put it there.

Though that box was empty of things, it was filled to overflowing with meaning because of the unseen love it represented.

Fathers, it is not the things that your children give you that endears their hearts to yours but instead their kisses, their loving words, the trust, the loyalty, the desire to spend time with you in your home.

Those are the gold boxes of love that give wings to your heart.

As always, I love you
Martin

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“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.” (Proverbs 17:9)

Want a better marriage or parent-child relationship? Be more forgiving.

For our relationships, grace is a vitamin and a grudge is poison.

Proverbs 19:11 says we gain respect of others when we display with willingness to not retaliate for an offense.

Let’s do our best today to have the “Father, forgive them…” mindset of Jesus.

As always, I love you
Martin

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“Parents are the pride of their children.” (Proverbs 17:6 NLT)

If you have children of any age, please strive to lead lives of integrity, diligence, kindness toward others, a strong desire for learning more about God’s Word.

Children will speak with pride about having such a parent.

Even more importantly, the child will have the confidence of knowing the path to life success is being displayed before his or her very eyes.

As always, I love you
Martin

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