Wise Dating

The Bible can be used as a guideline £or dating, because wisdom comes

£rom God. God included wisdom in the Bible and we are to live by every

word o£ God. (Eph. 5:15-17)

The £ollowing dating guideline is a paraphrase o£ something I heard

over a decade ago and is the best approach to dating in every situation

for everyone involved.

There are four levels of a wise dating relationship:

LEVEL ONE Platonic friends: Dating and making a point of having various

CHRISTIAN £riends of the opposite sex. Guarding your a££ections (giving

equal time to each friend, and not being totally alone with your date)

have RECIPROCAL friendships. It is very important to, regardless o£ how

much you like someone, be honest with yoursel£ and remain platonic

friends £or a minimum of (I believe) six months. 1 Cor. 6:14-18. Amos

3:3, Song 8:4, Prov. 4:23, 18:13. 2 Tim. 3:5-7, Matt. 7:20-21

LEVEL TWO PIatonic special £riends ("boyfriend and girlfriend", or best

friends): A£ter £inding someone reasonably similar, exclusively dating

them, talking about marriage, counseling with a minister, or if possible

taking a marriage compatibility test. (Prov. 11:14, 15:22)

LEVEL THREE Platonic engagement: Making plans and setting up the marital

arrangements. The engagement period should be short.

LEVEL FOUR Christian marriage: Till death do you part, with the only

exception for divorce being adultery (Matt. 5:31-32).

Your goal and desire in marriage shouldn't be to find the person of YOUR dreams (which doesn't exist), but to find the one God can bless you with.  Also it's unwise to claim you’re in love at first sight or have a "world wind relationship". There is no wise or legitimate reason to speed up the time it takes to develop a relationship, even if you were stranded on a

deserted island with the person of your dreams; realistically if you were

stranded on a island, you wouldn't know for sure how long you would be

stranded. By dating this way a man and woman could marry anywhere from

seven months to fifty plus years o£ meeting; Or remain platonic as

friends or best £riends (1st or 2nd level) £or the rest of their lives.

So here you are a wise dating strategy that's totally fool and game

proo£.

Let me know what you think.

P.S.

Wisdom is ...

W> orkable  (practical)

I> nsightful  (grasping inner things)

S> ound  (logical)  

D> iscerning (distinguishing truth from error)

O> bserving  (quick & keen perception)

M> oral  (principled in right & wrong)

Proverbs 8 says that wisdom dwells together with prudence, and walks in the way of righteousness along the paths of justice.

Maurice, 1998

It's a Turnover

Some people have a love affair with bread, pastries and carbohydrates in general. We are hearing more and more how we should cut back on carbs. They are filling, bloating & make you gain weight. But they taste so good!

The Bible says that Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is our nourishment and sustenance. Putting this Living Word, Living Bread into our lives yields incredible results! As He was, so are we in this world. Jesus was the Light, we are lights of the world. Jesus was the Bread of Life, we are the bread as well.

When life punches you in the face and you go through intensely heated situations as a christian,  just know that it's because you are Bread. God needs people who are willing to be "kneaded", those whom He can "fire up" for the Kingdom work ahead.

You may be thinking, "I'm toast", useless, ill-equipped. You may even be scared to be used by God! Let me encourage you.

Read Judges 7. It's the story of Gideon. He was a timid warrior until he heard about how scared his enemy was! He overheard a dream from the enemy camp in which a mere piece of bread destroyed their tents. Their soldiers were intimidated by the God Gideon served. This increased his faith. He overthrew the army with a mere 300 men!

Be encouraged today. God has already planned a turnover for you. You are about to upset the enemy!

A woman asked Jesus for a miracle. He said "It's not right for me to take the bread of the children and give it to dogs" She boldly replied, "Yes, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table." He commended her faith and she was healed. You may feel like the underdog in your situation but the game is about to be upset. Your enemy is afraid of you and he is already defeated.

The disciples were a band of unlearned, ordinary men who "turned the world upside down" it says in the Word of God! Whatever you are facing that may seem impossible is being overturned in Jesus name. It's a turnover!

In French the word for bread is "le pain". The pain you experience now is leading to a win. Endure it as a good soldier. The victory is ours in Christ Jesus!