Nobody likes conflict. Well, no healthy person that is. Many of us are genuinely afraid of conflict. The fear of conflict is as old as Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve messed up, and their relationship with God was broken. After they sinned, they end up hiding because they don't want to face the reality of the conflict. Adam, in Genesis 3:10, says to God "I heard you in the ga...

One of the most important skills we have to learn is how to resolve conflict. It is essential to our happiness. You can be wealthy, you can be attractive, you can be successful, you can be talented, but if your relationships are in turmoil, you're a mess. God recognizes that we're going to have conflict in our lives, because the world is broken. Romans 12:17-18 (NIV) "D...

Reconciliation means reestablishing the relationship. Resolution means resolving every issue. That second one isn't going to happen because there is nobody on this planet who agrees with you about everything. The fact is we're all different. We have different personalities. Have you noticed this? Can you have a loving relationship without agreeing on everything? Of course...

If you've got a well and the well has bad water, fixing the pump is not going to help what's in the well. That's the problem with a lot of self-help books. They tell you how to fix the pump, but they don't know how to tell you how to fix the water that's in the well. Until you fix that, things aren't going to get better for you. Psalm 141:3, "Take control of what I say, O...

What offends you? How easily do you get offended? Did you know that taking offense is a choice? Even when someone hurts you, you have the power to control your response. Even when you feel like you have the RIGHT to be offended, you can choose to lay down that right, and instead, rise above the offense. Make the choice. Refuse to be offended. You will actually be happier ...

Always take the high ground. What does that mean? Does that mean to let someone walk all over you? No. It means, always do the right thing whether the other person does or not. If they insult you, you treat them with kindness. If they're unloving to you, you be loving to them. If they are resentful to you, you be forgiving to them. If they're mean to you, you be nice to t...

No matter what situation you are in, it may be out of your control but it's not out of God's control. When you face a dead-end you don't focus on what you can't do, you focus on what God can do. 17 "Abraham believed in God who gives life to the dead and who creates something out of nothing." There are two things God does that you can't do -- God can give life to t...

What is the point of life? What was God's purpose in creating the world? Why did He create you and me? Ephesians 1:4-5 says that you were made to be loved by God. You were created as an object of God's love. God made you just to love you. Ephesians 1:4-5 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decide...

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. A bundle of sticks is hard to break. There are some advantages to going it alone. But there are also dangers in trying to make it through life all by ourselves. Sometimes when we are trying to make it on our own, it's easy to get broken. It's our choice and if we want, we can decide to go it alone. Or we can decide to "bundle"...

Whenever we go through tough times, we are tempted to ask, "Why? Why? Why me? Why is this happening? Why are we going through this?" Even, "Why is God allowing this?" or "If God wants me to be happy, why is his happening?" Lots of people think God's number one purpose is for us to be happy. I am sorry if I am the first person to tell you, but it's not. People say things l...