revelife | Christian Community for the Heart, Mind, and Soul

Revelife Christian Blog

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Discerning Forgiveness for Infidelity

Recently a viewer of ABC Family's 700 Club asked a trying moral query for a Bring It Online segment. Ivy asked:

I've been trying to forgive my husband for cheating on me. We have gone to counseling, but I can't seem to forgive, nor can I trust. How do you let go of the anger? How do you trust again? God says to forgive, but it's so hard to do. I want to forgive, so we can get on with our lives.
Co-host Christi Watts noted: “I think forgiveness can be one of the most difficult things in the whole wide world to do, and especially when it comes to a spouse, because that’s one of the ultimate betrayals.”

Longtime 700 Club host Pat Robertson looked into the camera and responded: "Here's the secret: Stop. Talking. About. The. Cheating." More Here...
Submit Your Posts to Revelife

Greetings, friends! We know at some point you've thought to yourself, "Self, I think Revelife should feature a post about [enter subject here]." Truthfully, we agree! There's really no subject that is entirely off-limits here at Revelife, so whatever it is you think we should talk about, we think you should write something about it and submit it to us!

You can also vote on your favorite posts to tell us what you want to see on the front page!

If you're new to the site -- or just need a reminder -- check out the About Us tab to learn more about the Revelife community.
When Short-Term Missions Works

As I sit here, I'm counting down the days until I go back to Haiti. Every year for the last three years now, I've gone to Haiti to participate in short-term missions. It's been a valuable growing opportunity for me, and I've learned a lot about myself, my leadership ability and my heart to serve others.

But I've also encountered a lot of resentment and rejection of the short-term missions model. As people have applied to go on trips through my church, friends and family have asked very challenging and troubling questions about the effectiveness of short-term missions trips. They've read books like When Helping Hurts and Toxic Charity -- both of which I strongly recommend reading. They've heard about non-profits embezzling money from their own bank accounts. Some of them have even gone on mission trips themselves, only to realize that they didn't really do anything to help the people they served. It all leads to one very powerful question: should we even do short-term missions?

My answer is a resounding yes. Short-term missions can and does help the people it serves if it's done appropriately. I've seen it with my own eyes. The problem is that not all short-term missions models are the same. Some short-term missions organizations don't even have a model in place to use as a measuring stick for what they are accomplishing. So what does short-terms missions look like when it works? Here are some characteristics of short-term missions models that are working. More Here...

Monday, 20 May 2013

Three Verses Often Interpreted Incorrectly

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24
This was after Jesus's exchange with the rich young ruler whom He told to sell all his possessions. Some have tried to suggest that this proverbial "eye of a needle" was a small door in the city gate. If a merchant or traveler arrived after the gates were closed, they would have to take all the stuff of their camel, and the camel would have to crawl through the gate door on its knees.

This picture of a camel on its knees was supposedly the way the rich man had to be in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. He had to take all of his stuff off, so to speak, and enter through the narrow gate (Matt. 7:13). But there is no evidence that any such "eye of a needle" existed, in form or reference. Jesus was contrasting the largest living thing in Jerusalem, a camel, with the smallest opening, the eye of a needle. More Here...
I Broke It Off Because of His Lack of Faith: How Do I Tell Him That?

By Sheree

I've known this guy since I was in middle school and he was in high school. There is a over four-year gap between us. We've had a rocky relationship from the start. I broke up with him because I felt like he wasn't pursuing God and didn't intend to do so.

But I didn't handle it like I should have. There were times I didn't know what I wanted or what I was supposed to do to please God. So to make a long story short I've hurt him and I need to apologize.

And I plan to. My question is how to tell him that his lack of pursuing God is keeping me from dating him. Won't he just "follow" God for me just to get me back? More Here...
My Advice to Single People Like Me

If we look closely how the media portrays love, we see that the media makes it seem like finding love or keeping love is the one thing that can make a person happy. While some may say, "Oh, boy, she's over analyzing the media," it is true. I think this is where most men and women think they must have someone in life to be happy, mainly because of the warm fuzzy thoughts the media has put in our heads. But while this may give us hope and encouragement in finding love, it can give us disappointment if we don't find the right person right away. We may think our lives are empty because of it.

On another note, maybe love can fill an empty space, because even in The Bible it says that God said that Adam should not be alone so He made Eve to be his partner. Maybe there is a purpose or a destiny that man and woman should mate. So can love fill an empty part of a persons soul? The answer is yes, and no. More Here...

Sunday, 19 May 2013

Sunday Service at North Point Online: Follow (Part Seven)

Good morning, Revelife readers! It's Sunday morning, and for Christians all around the world, today is the day we gather at our local churches to sing songs, listen to teaching and spend time with one another in community. We hope you'll be able to attend a church in your community today!

But we also know that, for any number of reasons, it's possible you can't or won't choose to go to church today. Whatever the situation is, we don't want you to be without the church experience today. That's why we feature the online services at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Today at North Point, teaching pastor Andy Stanley continues the series Follow. North Point's services are streamed online live at 9:00am and 11:00am with rebroadcasts at 2:00pm, 6:00pm and 10:00pm (all times Eastern). Hope to see you there!

If you like the services at North Point, you should know that there are North Point Strategic Partner churches all across North America. To see if there is one in your area, click here.

Saturday, 18 May 2013

Powerball Problems: Can Christians Play the Lottery?

As you are probably aware, the Powerball jackpot has reached a record-breaking $600M. That's a lot of money! So it comes as no surprise that a lot of people I know have purchased lottery tickets.

I've never been one to gamble. It's not that I have something big against it; I just don't think it's a very wise way to spend my money. And, granted, it's not that big of an investment for a possibly huge return, but I've always believed that God has called me to be a good steward of all His gifts -- big or small.

But some people I know are vehemently opposed to Christians participating in gambling, even the lottery. They quote verses like 1 Timothy 6:10, which states, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Of course, no where in the Bible does it say that wealth is always a bad thing. Proverbs 10:4 explains that "diligent hands bring wealth." It doesn't say wealth is wrong; it just says you should work for it. More Here...
There Are "Non-Christian" Areas in Our Lives

Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.
- James 5:7

There are areas in my life that are still in their “seed” stage, and in need of much patience and care. I’ve been walking with the Lord for a while now, but not all areas in my life have. There is this classic thing Christians do as we compartmentalize our walk with God -- this area is all His, but this other one? No, my flesh is too strong and because I obey God in that one area I get a free pass in this other one! The end result is my walk coming to a standstill, and the list of people that I have hurt only grows because I was too selfish to put myself last.

It is nice to look at our walk with God using that farmer example, but the same applies to the “non-Christian” areas in our life. I know we should not have them, but we compartmentalize, remember? Those seeds we planted while not walking with Him, yes the same we selfishly used and abused, they will grow. The hurt we caused on others? Time will water them and resentment will evilly care for each one. Maybe for now the hurt we caused is louder and bigger than our words of apology, but the non-believer does not understand the conviction the Holy Spirit places on a believer’s heart, leaving us in a place that we are just miserable for walking away from God. More Here...

Friday, 17 May 2013

One Man's Protest: Get the Bible Out of Here!

This week in the news I heard about a man who took his family camping at a North Georgia state park. The family rented a cabin but, when they got there, were surprised and offended that the cabin came equipped with its very own Bible. As an atheist, he felt that the inclusion of the Bible on state-owned property was inappropriate.

In response to his complaint, the state first announced it would remove the Bibles pending an investigation. Then the state attorney general ruled that the state didn't have to remove them because it didn't pay for them and because the state would allow any religious organization to donate literature. The man at the center of this debate has suggested he might take the state up on that offer.

State-owned cabins aren't the only places where religious literature can be found. Look in the drawers of many hotel rooms and you'll likely find a copy of Gideon's Bible. While I'm sure some people don't appreciate it, it seems there's never really been a big uproar over it. People just tend to, well, shut the drawer. More Here...