Eat the cake Anna Mae!

Subject: Domestic Violence

Hey, Pastor. I have a blog question:

What does the bible say about domestic violence? In Malachi 2:16, it says that God hates divorce and a man who covers himself and/or his wife in violence. If a woman is being abused by her husband, does this passage mean she has the right to divorce him?

Thank you Lord for Mom.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. Mother Senior is doing remarkably well and is at home taking some time off.

Man... it is so important to tell those whom we love, admire and cherish how we feel about them every chance we get. If there's someone whose been a yoda when you needed advice, a gilligan when you needed a laugh or worn whatever hat necessary to get you over (1) cover them in prayer (2) cover them in gratitude and (3) cover them in support.

Love and appreciate you Hopemakers!!!

P.S. - In honor of mama... post your favorite "mama story". http://www.spreadinghopeonline.blogspot.com/

Lately I've had the strangest feeling...

For awhile I’ve felt stuck in a spiritual rut. No forward or backward progress just stuck. Neither hot, nor cold I’ve been lukewarm cocoa!!!

Three passages of scripture over time have helped to stir me out of my little slumber party: James 1:5-8, Romans 12:1, 2 and Genesis 4:1-8.

First, I was confronted by the pungent pronouncements of James. I couldn’t understand why God wasn’t speaking to me in clear and pronounced ways. Confronted by personal struggles and called upon to assist others in dealing with their dilemmas means a need to have the Lord on speed dial. But for some reason I seemed to have been eliminated from His friends list. Just about the time between bewilderment and total frustration God spoke powerfully to me through James. He revealed three things:

1. He is deeply interested in sharing His heart with me. It’s all there for the asking. He was prepared to pour into my life generously and shamelessly. (James 1:5)

2. The holdup was me. To hear Him I needed to approach with an undivided heart (vs. 6). Because of prolonged inattentiveness to God's will I'd unintentionally slipped into an attitude of, "Lord, show me what you want me to do... so I can decide if I want to do it or not." This attitude was having the effect of "quenching" the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19)

3. He was refusing to bless me with more of Him, until I was absolutely sure that I wanted all of Him. (vs. 7-8)

More later…

For Love Or For Money?

Some recent research suggests that women will sacrifice achievement for the sake of a relationship, but men will more likely sacrifice a relationship for the sake of an achievement.

Wondering if anyone has experienced that from either the female or male perspective.

Choose your own adventure!

This question comes from Leonard Sweet.
Romans 1:26 says, "For this reason God gave them up." What do you think is the greater danger: that God will punish us and be angry with us for our failings and rejections, or that God may leave us alone with our choices and just let things take their course? Why?

Can two believers be unequally yoked?

I have another question that you could answer on the blog concerning 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, when the Bible says be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. I have been told by quite a few believers, that this also applies to people in other church denominations. Is this true? For example, is it a deal breaker to date/marry a Church of God in Christ person if you are a Baptist (with a non-denominational philosophy)? I wonder because when I check, Paul says that it's not good to have any divisiveness in worship of Christ (I Corinthians 1:10-15). If the other person is also Christian, then how is that being unequally yoked?"