Actually you need to go where you can grow and be rooted there. Going where you are fed could mean “Go where you like the food.” It may have nothing to do with your health or long term development.
Evaluating a church should be different from evaluating a restaurant where your concern is just one meal and your experience during that time. In a church, look for opportunity for long term growth and health for your entire family. Anything less will be like a one meal decision.
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Today, we have a guest post by Sarah Jacobs. More information about her will be given below.

Once in a while, we encounter people who have a different opinion from us. That’s normal, since no one can really agree or please everyone. However, if the other person’s opinion is based on a wrong fact, a fallacy, or just an entirely wrong premise, many of us start grinding our teeth in disapproval.
The worst part is, once you try to explain that he/she is on the wrong side, they immediately take on a defensive stand and quickly become aggressive – insisting that he/she is right and that he/she is entitled to that opinion. This is familiar for people who have involved themselves in a winding Internet debate. Even if Google is just a click away, some people simply refuse to see the facts and insist on their own opinion – even if that is based on fake news and unverified information.
Disagreements with a closed mind can also happen in the office or within your own social circle. Sometimes, your boss just does not support an idea – no matter how brilliant it is. A friend, despite your constant advice and reminder, still got himself sucked up into an investment group which is clearly a Ponzi scheme. Close-minded people can be a source of frustration, and most of the time, they only learn the lesson when it is already too late. However, if you still care enough to help close-minded people realize their mistake and open their mind, here are a few tips:
1. Don’t make them feel threatened.
Most closed-minded people will feel attacked if you come across as too passionate and strong about what you have to say. This will cause them to be in the defensive, and as a result, they are more likely inclined to not change their minds. Although it is normal to flame up especially if you know that the other person is wrong, it is important to remain calm and conversational as much as possible. Ask them questions, and listen first.
2. Explain everything in simple language.
The last thing you need is language barrier getting in the way of your message. Like communicating itself, the best way to persuade people is to use common language. This works for people who are close-minded too. You want them to listen and understand you, not come across as an intimidating, jargon-laden speaker.
3. If you are going to present facts, do it in charts.
Facts can also be hard to understand especially if they are presented in unfamiliar ways. So if ever you want to change someone’s mind through facts, try to present them through charts, pies and graphs. That way, you get to explain your point more easily, and they will understand it more.
4. Use relevant analogies.
Sometimes, when facts just don’t cut it, you have to paint a clearer picture for that other person’s mind. Use an analogy that is easily relatable to him/her. Relate it to his/her profession, his/her role in life and his/her aspirations and dreams.
5. When all else fails, let experience be their teacher.
When you have done everything just to explain things to the other person patiently, but they still remain stubborn, then just let it go and allow them to cling into their own beliefs or opinions. People learn throughout life and experiences anyway, and it is best to leave them with their own discoveries and self-realizations.
Lastly, avoid stressing over people who don’t want to listen even when they are wrong. Ultimately, it is their loss if they don’t want to learn or open their minds early on. Mistakes through experience are more costly, but it is a more effective wake-up call for people who are close-minded.

Sarah Jacobs is an experienced writer who loves creating articles that can benefit others. She has worked as a freelance writer in the past making informative articles and fascinating stories. She has extensive knowledge in a variety of fields such as technology, business, finance, marketing, personal development, and more.
Find out more about her company here: http://www.lea-p.com/

Is that how the song goes? Well at least it rhymes. The original words of the hymn are something like this “Come and dine the Master calleth come and dine…”
Jesus said “Come and die” when he said “If anyone comes after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” When the people originally heard these words, they understood only one implication for the word “cross” used here. They would have understood it to be an invitation to go die with Jesus.
Many enjoyed the benefits of Jesus’ ministry, but only a few became followers.
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“Did God actually say, ‘you shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen 3:1b).

Questions with half truths and half lies commonly come with an evil or inappropriate intent. Dissecting the question is easy to do. We can easily separate the lies from the facts. But as you begin to do that, you’ve already begun your descent into the intended evil trap. Then as you continue with your explanation, your feet go deeper and deeper into the trap until you are completely trapped.
Some questions need to be ignored. Carefully select the ones that deserve an answer. Then what do you do with the rest? Just smile and walk away. If the questions continue, just continue the smile and keep walking.
It’s hard to decipher the differences. This is where we need discernment and maturity to know which questions deserve an answer and which ones deserve a smile. Otherwise, this trap will continue to trap us every time. But if we can grow in our discernment, we can avoid numerous traps.
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I stood there looking at the app on my phone to see all the available cabs. Looks good. Great low price. No extras. No strings attached.

But the booking wouldn’t go through. No one wants to take the short ride. Finally one took the bait. My wife and I put our luggage in the back and got in. As the vehicle moved forward, I gave the driver my destination. The car stopped. He said he can’t go. He’s got something urgent. We got out in the hot sweltering sun. My card was charged the minimum rate. 

It was a great price. But what’s the use? I’ve heard the term “Race to the bottom” from Seth Godin. It’s the race to be the cheapest. But if it’s useless to the customer, no one wins. 

God created Adam and Eve and gave them the task of taking care of the land. But even before they were created, God had set up his own “sprinkler system” to water the land.

And a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground (Gen 2:6).

The natural world we live in is more supernatural than we understand. God’s activity in our present world is quite real. Similar to how God took care of the land, we can be confident that he takes good care of us.
As we go about our daily tasks, it’s easy to only think of our natural world. Or, we think of our world as only natural. We evaluate every event with a string of cause and effects. We look at difficulties and problems and look for what caused those problems. In the same way we look at good things and commend ourselves for what we did right, and the hard work and efforts we applied to get things moving along.
There is no problem with such thinking until some tragedy occurs that’s beyond our control. Then we begin to blame God. We look back to our “faithfulness” and wonder how God would allow such things in our lives.
But all along, God has been faithful to take care of us each day. Just like in Gen 2:6, he is “watering” our lives with all the basics of what we truly need.
And what about the tragedies? Since we live in a “fallen” world, we must expect these things. But God continues to sustain us in the midst of such a fallen world.
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Stepped out of church and saw the candy wrappers just outside the front door. Surely there were several or many who saw it.

“But it’s not my job.” That famous line is famous for a reason. That line keeps people from growing. That mentality promotes mediocrity.

That person also complains that things are just not right. Someone should do something about it. But not me. “It’s not my job.” Enough of such thinkers, and the entire organisation become mediocre.

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You can talk all you want, but don’t miss the timing. You may be absolutely correct, but the timing can’t be ignored. Your frustration may be validated, but you didn’t do what you should have done at the time you should have done it.
We may think that we need time to consider all the options. But it’s got to be done within the appropriate time. Otherwise all your efforts are wasted simply because you missed the timing.
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But they’re supposed to prosper. Aren’t they? We know the verse in the Bible that says:

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3).

So when the righteous don’t prosper, where is the problem? Are you not righteous enough? Is God incapable of taking care of the righteous? Are the powers of evil too strong for the righteous and for God?
Or, have we misunderstood the Bible? A tree will bear fruit of its own kind. So as the verse in Psalm 1 speaks of the righteous, we’d expect a fruit of righteousness. But today it’s common to equate fruit with material prosperity.
Centuries later Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:29-31).
This statement was in the context of a man asking Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. The man claimed to be perfect in everything that Jesus mentioned. Then Jesus asked him to sell all he has and give it all away to the poor. If he would do that, he would have treasure in heaven. But the man went away sad because he had great wealth and couldn’t part with it.
After the man walked away, Jesus continued this discussion with his disciples. It is clear they were to have their focus and values on the kingdom of God. In Mark 10:30, Jesus promised them they’ll get the basics “(homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields – and with them persecution), and in the age to come, eternal life.”
That’s a great bargain.
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When people reject you, it’s time to move on. It was for a good reason that Jesus said to his disciples: “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town” (Matthew 10:14 ESV).
Don’t keep on trying to turn the no to a yes. You may want to try several times just to see if they have misunderstood you or if you have not understood them correctly. Once it is clear to you that what you have to offer is unacceptable to the other person, it’s time to move on.
Move on to the next person. What is not beneficial to one will be helpful to another.  There are people who need your message. There are those who are eagerly waiting to receive the help you can give them. You are the answer to their prayers. If you don’t move on, you’ll never get to these people.
Keep refining your approach. Your core message remains the same, but your way of presentation may change according to the circumstances. Maybe as you face more rejections, that will give you an opportunity to refine your methods.
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