Men must learn how to show love

One of the most unspoken problems I commonly find when I'm counseling couples or women is how terrible men are at showing affection.

It's an underlying problem not often discussed. Women will confirm it if asked, men will usually deny it or go defensive about it. Typical reasons men give include "My wife knows I love her, I don't need to say it to her every day" and "If I go soft, she'll take advantage of me."

The truth is that most men either don't understand women at all or are completely patronizing of them.

If a man wants to be happy he has to make his wife happy. And to do that, he has to know her, understand her needs, and meet them.

Is tithing enough to prosper?

Let me explain why some tithers fail to prosper.

The big mistake many tithers make is to interpret the promise of God in Malachi 3.10 literally. When God says that He will "open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough to receive it" He is referring to the intensity of His blessings, not how they will literally happen. In other words, you will not see a window opening in the sky above you and see money pouring like rain till it fills up your backyard.

The role of tithing in your prosperity is two-fold. First, it enables God to rebuke the devourer in your life. That means you will be protected from undue losses. Second, it brings God's favor upon the actions you take to conquer financial blessings. I stress "actions you take" – that is, in order to prosper, you need to take some practical steps besides tithing.

Here are three things you can do to start: 

Adopt a no-borrowing principle. It is abundantly clear in God's Word that His people should not borrow (Deut 28.12). You should get into God's financial mindset, which is to be financially independent. The borrower is a slave to the lender. Always prefer to pay for things in full, and if you can't afford it now, save enough money to buy it in one payment later. This way you will never pay interest, and you may even earn interest on your savings, depending on how you invest it.

1. Improve your earning sources. You may be stuck in a job that pays you the same salary year after year and there are no prospects of change. How can God prosper you when your earning source is limited? But before you think that looking for another job is the solution, consider if the problem lies with you. If you are not an employee who adds value, that is, you are not an indispensable, hard-to-find employee who helps the company to grow, why would your boss pay you more? Why would he bother to retain you when the average person can do what you do? Make sure you add value to your company before asking them to add dollars to your salary.
   
2. Have an entrepreneurial spirit. Nowadays, there are literally thousands of small business ideas to be explored and that could provide you with an extra income. If you limit yourself to a 9-to-5 job at a fixed salary, you know you can't expect more than that. What are you really good at? Is it something people are willing to pay you for? If yes, you're in business already! Do a bit of research into the idea, but most importantly, get started immediately and perfect the business as you go along. Action is the key. Don't be afraid to take risks. 
   

God promised to bless the tithers but He can only bless the work of your hands. If you give Him nothing to bless, that is, if you take no action, He can't help you.

Opening the Door

In a country at war, there was a king who tormented his captives.

Instead of killing them, the king led them to a room where a group of archers waited at one side opposite a huge iron door. Around the door hung skulls covered in blood.

In this room, the king gave them two options:

- You can choose to die by my archers’ arrows or go through that door.

Everybody chose death by the archers.

At the end of the war, a soldier who loyally served the king, said:

- Your majesty, can I ask you a question?

- Yes, soldier.

- What is behind that scary door?

- Go and see for yourself.

At first he was scared, but trusting in the king, he slowly opened the door and when he did so, rays of sunshine lit up the room.

The door lead out of the prison and into freedom.

Amazed, the soldier looked at the king, who said:

- I gave them a choice, but rather than risking opening the door, they chose to die.

Well, how often have we decided not to open a door or chosen not to pass through one, afraid of risking everything?

In today's world, many people haven’t found freedom yet and it’s exactly for that reason: fear. Fear of not being successful, fear of what others might think, fear of failure. And with that, they remain stagnant, they remain still in time and completely tangled up in their problems.

We should act differently, but many times, we act exactly the same.

How many people are influenced by the bias media reports Satan imposes and are afraid to come through the doors of the Universal Church?

But those who are suffering, the ones who have nothing to lose, seek and conquer their freedom with an intrepid and bold faith.

Sent by: Murilo (via email)

The Serpent and the Firefly

Once upon a time, a serpent chased a firefly.

The latter fled rapidly, afraid of the ferocious predator, but the serpent didn’t even think about giving up. The firefly fled one day and the serpent didn’t give up; two days, and nothing…

On the third day, now clearly weakened, the firefly stopped and asked the serpent:

• Can I ask you three questions?

• I don’t usually proceed this way with anyone, but since I’m going to devour you anyway, you may ask…

• Am I part of your food chain?
• No.

• Did I harm you in any way?
• No.

• So then, why do you want to finish me off?
• Because I can’t stand to see you shine…

Many times, we don’t understand the reason for persecution, anger, lies, slander, etc.

But here is one of the reasons:
they simply can’t stand to see us shine!