Pure Sex in Marriage - Does the bible acknowledge the Boyfriend/Girlfriend Relationship?

1 Thessalonians 4:5-7: Don’t let your sexual desires control you like the people who don’t know God. 6 Never wrong any of your fellow believers or cheat them in this way. The Lord will punish those who do that. We have already told you this and warned you about it. 7 God chose us to be holy. He does not want us to live in sin. (ERV)

Hebrews 13:4: Marriage should be honored by everyone. And every marriage should be kept pure between husband and wife. God will judge guilty those who commit sexual sins and adultery. (ERV)

How does one practically apply these verses to their many relationships and acquaintances?  The Bible teaches that there are basically 3 kinds of relationships: familial (blood related), relational (neighbors), and marital (husband or wife).   The Bible does not recognize or acknowledge the very common and popular dating (boyfriend/girlfriend) relationship.   This is a nebulous coupling that is difficult to define or establish boundaries, guidelines, and standards for.   How can you distinguish your boyfriend/girlfriend from your neighbor?  Is there any distinction according to the Bible.  Th is is why people who are involved in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship get in so much trouble with regard to not defrauding each other and keeping their future marriage beds from defilement.   Many couples currently involved in a dating relationship really don't consider whether or not they are defrauding their dating partner or defiling their future marriage bed.  They are simply living in the present and focused on selfishly enjoying their dating partner.  They are indifferent to, not interested in knowing, or don't really care about the ramifications, consequences associated with participating and the plethora of physical activities that are indicative of most if not all dating relationships.  They are too busy enjoying the benefits of these relationships.  I am amazed of how many girls and women give themselves fully to someone that they don't end up marrying and then repeat this behavior with several other partners leading up to the “one” that they eventually end up marrying.  Of course this is true for guys also, but they think of this a bit differently than the typical girl/woman.   I believe that the average male really isn't bothered with their sexual conquest not ending in marriage.  They are mainly looking for selfish enjoyment apart from commitment and they aren't even considering marriage.  Most guys struggle with monogamy because they are controlled by their selfish desire for personal pleasure.   It amazes me that even knowing this – that the current relationship is not going to end in marriage and in fact their current dating partner will having difficulty remaining faithful, still have no problem or reservations giving these guys their most prized and intimate possessions. … Things that should be exclusively reserved for their future spouses(husband/wife) (pre & post the marriage ceremony).  So many women these days believe if they are willing to sleep with their boyfriends, they will eventually want to live together and after living together for a period of time, that the relationship will end in marriage.  These women are so deceived.  I also believe that most women simply settle.   They are tired of being alone and not having anyone to share their lives or meet their needs for feeling special, wanted, beautiful, etc., they simply settle for Mr. right now and give themselves fully to him in exchange for the possibility of getting their selfish needs met.  Women tend to dress differently to attract the attention and interest that their soul's long for.   They see other women getting attention, compliments, etc. from men and notice how they dress and carry themselves and decide their only alternative is to do the same.  How sad. :(.  What benefit is actually gained from a guy or guys that are complementing you on how your body looks or because they want to selfishly indulge in your body will tell you anything?  The ONLY way to gauge how a man really cares for you, respects you, desires to pursue you in a courting relationship is to refrain completely and totally from any physical contact whatsoever.  In fact, if you are not comfortable doing what he desires with your biological brother or father, you should not do it with him.  This is how you ensure that you nor he will be defrauded and your your mutual marriage beds will be free from defilement even if you both end up marrying one another.  It is NOT wise, beneficial or practical to indulge physically with anyone including your future spouse prior to marriage.  So many people today in the Christian community are living together with their boyfriends/fiances and really don't understand  that they are sowing seeds that will ensure a difficult future marriage.   How could they think or believe    that by choosing this lifestyle that they could maximize the blessings of any future marriage.  Physical relationships have a tendency to deceive the persons involved in them.   God has graciously designed us to desire, crave, and even lust for our sexual partner.  He intended this for a lifelong partner.   He also did not desire for anyone to indulge in physical activities outside of a marriage relationship.  He desired for us to have sexual relations with one person and He placed a mutual desire, attraction for marital partners to protect them from the sinful desires of the flesh that desire what it wants, when it wants, who it wants, for as long as it wants. Anytime a person inters a physical relationship with anyone else it is a counterfeit marriage, but your body responds as if you were actually married and initiates a bond or glue between you and your partner.  Usually these relationships do not end in marriage so you basically have to work against God's plan to seal the two together because you have made the sealing process counterfeit.  This repetitive sealing and unsealing is very counterproductive and detrimental to both partners and the success of their eventual marriage relationships.  This, in fact is the reason why there is so much divorce in the Christian community because both males and females have become so comfortable and familiar with discontinuing the sealing process that God graciously initiates after marriage.   They enter the marriage relationship with  selfish desires that they expect their marriage partner to satisfy and fulfill as their many sexual partners did prior to marriage and if this is not achievable, both partners are prone and susceptible and have no problem looking elsewhere to get their selfish needs meet or satisfied.  Again, how sad :( - not in accordance to plan,, will, or purpose of God for either of them.  The physical hormones and chemical that are released during sexual intimacy are intended to make both partners feel desired, attractive, special appreciated honored in the eyes of their partner, exclusively.  However, when you give yourself to multiple partners or an uncommitted partner the chemicals and hormones have different affect because there is not trust, commitment or mutual unselfishness involved with these relationships.  Women usually feel unattractive, dirty, and used after giving themselves to someone if they know that their partner can't be trusted and is not committed to the relationship, but as stated earlier they settle for these relationships as opposed to not having any relationship at all.  They either try to convince their partner to remain loyal or break up with them and look for someone else to meet their selfish needs and desires.  It is impossible for partners not  to selfishly use one another if their relationship is outside of a marital relationship.  Not sure why so many Christians who have planned to marry (have even set a wedding date and sent out the invitations) or have recently started dating after enduring the finalizing of a divorce have not problem indulge in physical intimacy with their partner.  They have convinced themselves that under these circumstances that physical intimacy is OK and acceptable.   Or even if they don't feel this way, they still indulge because they don't think they are strong enough to abstain completely from any physical contact that so easily defrauds their partner.  Their bodies have become used to such activities in the case of a post divorce or is incredibly inclined to compromise in the case of an engaged couple.  If only both partners in either these relationships realize the apparent detriment of any future marriage relationship.  However they are usually blinded by their immediate selfish desires and not really to concerned with the future implications of their choices or decisions.   Also, they see so many other couples indulging in the very things that they are indulge in and also professing to be Christians. 

Women are so influenced by words.  I believe there is both a chemical and emotional response in women after hearing words from men.  Men quickly learn this and become experts at saying what they know women want to hear to get what they want from them.  Words like “I love You”, “ I want to show  you how special you are to me”, “I can see us married in a couple of years”, “You are the one for me”, “I want you to meet my mother”, “You are so beautiful”,  “I am so attracted to you sexually”, etc.  Why do these words have so much power over women?   Women should realize these are just carefully crafted lines to get them give up their most prized possessions that is and should be reserved, preserved, and conserved for their husband on their marriage night and not any time before or with anyone else afterward.   I could talk about this all day, but I will instead recommend an excellent resource that all Christians of all ages (12-99+) should read - “Sex, Dating, and Relationships” by Gerald Hiestand and Jay S. Thomas.   This is an essential and necessary read for all Christians.  Thank You and God Bless... May God give you the strength, grace and wisdom to keep your pure or begin keeping yourself pure until you find yourself in a committed marriage relationship. AMEN!!!

Acceptance by God, for others from others and of your yourself… All by & through the GRACE of God – Judgment FREE zone.

What an interesting group of people we are in the world, in our country, in our state, in our city, in our community, with our family members, friends, and with those we have a relationship or interactions with.   By this I mean everyone seems to have an idea of right and wrong, truth and error, positive and negative and we all observe others and point out things we don’t see or do see.  This may be verbalized, but in some instances we keep it to ourselves, but we are constantly evaluating and assessing the decisions and actions of others, especially if we consider ourselves innocent or not guilty of these judgment calls.  We seem to think or believe that people are capable of acting, behaving, and speaking better than we observe and hold them accountable for not doing so.  I am not sure if we hold ourselves to these standards, but it is easier to point out things in the lives of others than in our own lives for some reason.

There are things about out us all that we are should always strive to change.   There are things about ourselves that we are in the process of changing about ourselves. There are things that we will be successful changing about ourselves.  There are things that we can be successful changing about ourselves, but are not willing to so.  There are things that we will not be so successful changing about ourselves.  There are also things we have attempted to change about ourselves, but have decided that we can’t change and so we have decided to accept that is just the way we are.  All of these characteristics are true about everyone, but we rarely take them into consideration when considering the actions, words, and behaviors of others.  We expect them to try harder to be the very best person they are capable (even if they are incapable) of being.  Where they fall short, we believe they should be judged and suffer consequences even if necessary at our own hands, however, we don’t believe that our own personal faults, failures, and flaws should be dealt with in this manner.  

We demand and insist that everyone else change and we don’t extend to them the grace, patience, forbearance, and endurance that we have so generously extended to ourselves and expect from others concerning those things about ourselves that we don’t like, but have decided to not do anything about.  It would be like deciding no longer to bath and also decide that we are no longer going to try to clean up our language - attempting to reduce the use of expletives in our conversations with others.   We realize that these choices may cause our friends, family, etc. a bit of discomfort, unpleasantness, etc., but we want them to accept us as we are and extend to us the grace to be as we have chosen to be.   However, anytime we hear any expletives from others, we openly or secretly judge them.   And also if we notice a fowl or unpleasant odor coming from someone we judge them for it, look down on, belittle them, and gossip about them to others.   Would this make any sense?

Jesus, in the Bible knew that we all would have a propensity to do this and encourages us no to be this way. 

Mathew 7:1-5: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

After his death and resurrection, his chief spokesperson Saul, later Paul (after conversion) shared the same sentiment.

Romans 2:1-4: “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

This same Paul encourages us not to be this way, but instead:

^“Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.”

Romans 12:18, ^“If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

A contemporary of Paul, Peter shares the same sentiments as he does.

1 Peter 3:11, “Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]”

We should be very careful and cautious prior to judging others for anything we observe or assume true about them.  Judging them does not benefit them or us.  We should instead strive to be the best that we can be and learn to accept, be patient with, forbear and endure the weaknesses, preoccupations, limitations, undesirable characteristics of others.  These things or similar things are also true of us and we expect others to accept us for who we are so we should strive to do the same for all mankind. 

Do we really understand the truth of our condition-all of our conditions, the conditions of all humans for all times past, present and future? God, provides to all mankind for all times the truth of all of our conditions regardless if we believe or feel his assessment of us (personally) is true it nevertheless remains true.

Genesis 6:5-6:

 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart.

One thing to note, this was not God experiencing a discovery for himself or being shocked than all mankind was more sinful than he expected them to be.  This was him informing us of our conditions and his response to our sinful conditions.  What other response could God, the only God who is Holy, Holy, Holy, righteous and just have with regard to our desperately sinful condition?

This assessment of man is even re-stated in Romans 1:31-32:

 [They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless. Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.

Why do we ignore, disbelieve, discount this assessment of ourselves, but believe it is only try of a small minority of others even if true of anyone?

We actually dare to say to ourselves (and in some cases to others) – No, GOD you are wrong!  This assessment is not true of me.  I am basically good and strive to do good and in most cases am successful doing so.  I see this in myself and also in many others.  None of us choose to not to do good, and we certainly don’t encourage others to not do good.  This is simply not true.

Romans Chapter 3 has a different opinion when it comes to doing good and all mankind (even you):

Romans 3:10–18:

As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one. No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends]; no one seeks out God.  All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one!  Their throat is a yawning grave; they use their tongues to deceive (to mislead and to deal treacherously). The venom of asps is beneath their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood.  Destruction [as it dashes them to pieces] and misery mark their ways.  And they have no experience of the way of peace [they know nothing about peace, for a peaceful way they do not even recognize]. There is no [reverential] fear of God before their eyes.

You still might protest because you have never been legally proven guilty of any of these behaviors.  However, you are not considering your heart – your desperately wicked, fickle, and unpredictable heart.  The heart of man is capable of all manner of evil it only needs opportunity, justification, and an agreeable situation or circumstance to manifest to you just how evil and desperately wicked it is.  But if you sincerely and honestly conduct a self-evaluation, you too will come to accept God’s assessment of yourself.  Try to do good or cease trying not to do anything.

Again, we should all learn from Paul, (sincerely think of your own personal experience when reading these verses.  Also, read these verses more than once and ask yourself the question after reading each verse – “Is this true of me? “Do I relate or identify with this experience?):

Romans: 7: 15:25:

 For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [^[b]which my moral instinct condemns]. Now if I do [habitually] what is contrary to my desire, [that means that] I acknowledge and agree that the Law is good (morally excellent) and that I take sides with it. However, it is no longer I who do the deed, but the sin [principle] which is at home in me and has possession of me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.]  For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing. Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [^[c]fixed and operating in my soul].  So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands. For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature].But I discern in my bodily members [^[d]in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [^[e]in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh]. O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?  O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

What if at birth we are all clothed with a beautiful, perfect, spotless white garment and instructed to keep it clean from our Maker.  However during the course of our lives we find ourselves in a pool of mud and filth that has changed our white garment to a shade of brown or black…definitely no longer white. We look around and see many in fact all others in the same predicament - wading, swimming, or floating in this pool of filth. What would you be preoccupied with doing in regard to yourself and in your relationships and interactions with others?   Would you attempt to remove the filth from your garment? Remove the filth from the garment of others? Accept the hopeless of your predicament and choose to make the best of your time in the pool of filth? Regardless of your answer to these questions, would you judge others for the filth on their garments and insist that they try harder to restore their garments to the original condition of pure, perfect whiteness? 

Why are we so prone to give ourselves the liberty and grace to be anyway we desire to be, but expect others to always strive to be who we thing they should be (and are definitely capable of being)? 

We all are or are not who we are by the grace of God.  No one is capable of doing anything apart from the gracious bestowal of the grace and provision of God and God alone.  In and of ourselves we are incapable of doing anything that God requires and expect from us.  This fact can be clearly seen from the following passage of scripture – a conversation between proud, Peter and Jesus Christ:

Mark 14:27:30

 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away this night [that is, you will be caused to stumble and will begin to distrust and desert Me], for it stands written, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.   But after I am raised [to life], I will go before you into Galilee.” But Peter said to Him, Even if they all fall away and are caused to stumble and distrust and desert You, yet I will not [do so]!  And Jesus said to him, Truly I tell you, this very night, before a cock crows twice, you will utterly deny Me [disclaiming all connection with Me] three times.

You can clearly see Peter’s presumption of what he is capable of doing.  It is true that Peter had a strong desire not to betray Jesus, but no ability in and of himself to do so.   Jesus wanted to let him know this truth about himself.   We often say there are certain things that we could never do or would never do, but the truth is we are capable of doing anything regardless of our desire or assumed resolve not to.   This is due, once again to our desperately wicked, unpredictable and fickle heart.  God is pleased with us when we acknowledge our true condition instead of assuming something about us that is not true or taking credit for something that only God can do in us by his grace and for his purposes and sole glory.   Considering the following passage of scripture, which person do you identify with the most?

Luke 18:9-15:

 He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves and were confident that they were righteous [that they were upright and in right standing with God] and scorned and made nothing of all the rest of men: Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee ^[j]took his stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers—or even like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain. But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the ^[k]especially wicked sinner that I am! I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

You can clearly see that God is more interested in us acknowledge our inadequacies instead of proudly proclaiming our assumed abilities.   Since we realize that the only things we can offer to God are our inadequacies, why do we expect others to be capable of doing things or not doing things in and of themselves and feel we can judge them or point out these character flaws to them and others?   We should extend to them the same grace that we so richly extend to ourselves and God has made available to everyone.  Therefore know that when you judge others you are actually informing God that apart from his grace that you are capable of keeping yourself free of those things that you accuse and judge others for and presently stand innocent in his sight and continue in this condition of innocence for all time in the future.  This is hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance in technical-color. When we witness or experience the failures, flaws, frailties of others we should only extend to them grace and not judge knowing that we too in the eyes of God are equally guilty and worthy of God’s judgment.   Instead of judging others we should pray for them (that God richly bestows his grace towards them and grants them the power to overcome or obtain victory over their particular issues(s)), be patient with them, forebear with them as we would expect their response would be towards us consider our own failures, flaws and frailties.

Thanks for your time.. God Bless You, Grant his Grace to you reveal His Love for and to you and give you peace…

Our Tongue - A potentially lethal, damaging, hurtful weapon aimed directly at the Heart.....

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Eph. 4:29,31,32). Post settings
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, (Philippians 2:14)
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (1 Peter 3:10-12).
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:22-26).

Conversations, discussions (even heated) devolve into arguments when one or both parties are convinced they are not being heard or their position/view point is being discounted or disregarded. I wonder if people who grumble, complain, or say things under their breath during a disagreement, argument, or heated discussion really think or feel that they are accomplishing anything or benefiting anyone involved? I believe we should always maintain eye-contact with anyone we are in a discussion with. We should do this in order to show them respect and consideration and because I believe we expect and hope to receive this from people that we are having disagreement with. Conversations escalate into arguments that become progressively verbally and sometimes physically abusive due to poor communication habits. We would save ourselves a lot of grief and emotional and sometimes physical harm if we learned how to argue a position, share our feelings, or explain our needs and concerns in a productive manner. Here are just a few points that I have learned and attempt (though not perfectly) to practice. As stated before, we should “never” lose eye-contact with the person that we are trying to share something with or having a disagreement with. You should never say anything about the situation, unless the other person can clearly hear you. Stop saying things under your breath, or having person conversations with yourself (grumbling, venting) that can be heard by the person that you are having a dis-agreement or issue with. This isn’t helpful and very counter-productive. All of these points should be made face-to-face in a respectful manner and tone with the purpose of being heard and understood. There is no chance of the situation getting better if the person you are having an issue with isn’t aware of your position nor given the opportunity to understand why you are not pleased or having difficulty with the current situation. Also, it is extremely counterproductive if both parties are attempting to share, express, vent, defend, etc. at the same time. This becomes a screaming match that grows louder and louder until one or both parties result to verbal insults, exaggerations of the situations – with statements like “you always…, you never, you make me…, I wish you would…If you don’t… if you keep this up…” or make physical threats and sometimes carry them out. All of this could be avoided if we all decided to actually practice better communication skills. We have learned two essentials – never lose eye-contact and if you notice you are both speaking at the same time, stop and let the other party know that you will let them speak so you can hear them out (this is essential..be the bigger person if you truly desire and want to improve the current situation). Listen to the other party explain their position or view point, ONLY ask questions if clarification of their position is needed. You should Never, attempt to correct, be-little, disregard/discount the person’s position or become defensive, or attempt to share your position until you fully understand the other person’s position. Once you feel you have understood their position, restate it back to them. If further clarification is needed work through this with them until both of you know and understand this position. After the other parties position is understood by both parties, validate this position and let the person know that you can understand how they would feel the way that they do or believe the way that they do based on their perception of the situation. However, they do not have all the facts until they listen to your position, hear you out (making concessions for clarification only… basically giving you the same courtesy and respect that you expressed to them). Most important is eventually being able to verbalize your position and offering empathy and understanding. Once both positions are clearly understood, the goal should be to come up with a compromise where both parties make concessions with the goal of coming up with a win-win action plan. This is going to require both parties to be willing to change something about themselves or the way they say or do things. It will most likely require some sacrifice of time, effort, etc. (this will be well worth it for both parties). If this cannot be achieved, time should be allowed for each person to reflect on the situation (if applicable) alone and you should both agree to revisit this situation at a later date. But for now agree to dis-continue this disagreement and not mention it until the agreed upon date. If the situation won’t allow for this, both parties should seek the counsel/mediation of a mutually respected friend, mentor (who is impartial and experienced in settling disagreements, misunderstandings, etc. between people). This approach will be much more productive than what is usually practiced by people who have issues with one another or a disagreement about a certain situation or circumstance. This approach will also prevent a lot of unnecessary, hurtful and damaging (often irreparable/irrevocable) words, threats, or abuse (even physical). We should always strive to put these positive communication skills in practice at all times in all situations and for all people. To recap, 1) Never lose eye-contact (face-to-face) 2) Don’t speak about the situation in the presence of the other party unless you want what you are saying to be heard by them 3) Never speak at the same time with the person you are having the disagreement with, let them speak first and try to hear them out, understand what they stay, and know why they are saying it 4) Ask them to give you the same respect and consideration 5) Never attempt to make the situation better until both positions are clearly understood by both parties 6) Attempt to resolve without a third party 7) take time for reflection and clarity, agree to revisit at a later date if necessary and applicable 8) Seek guidance from a mutually respected, impartial, experienced, mentor and friend. Have a Great Day and lets strive to NOT resort to hurtful words or actions when having a disagreement with people. Of course, some people will not be willing to put these suggestions into practice and they will continue experiencing the negative and damaging effects of arguing or tryint to get their point across using poor ineffective communication habits. Not much I can do for them... but for those who have ears to hear....Grace, Love, and Peace to you all. Make it a GREAT Day!!!

The Wrath of God directed towards Sin not Mankind

Romans 1: 18-22

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

As you review the Old testament in the Bible, this is definitely evident. …

The Israelites needed to 1) Recognize that God is who He says He is and is able to do what He says He will do, 2) Realize He that He desires to have a relationship with them as their provider and protector and 3) Remember what He had done and provided for them in the past and 4) Rect on these things when they are faced with new situations or circumstances that could cause them to worry, fear or doubt the outcome. It is apparent that Israelites did fear the worst instead of remembering and reflecting on what God had done for them in the past. We can see this based on their comment “you have brought us out in this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” This statement was directed towards Moses and not God, but the Israelites appears to have forgotten all about what God had done for them up til then.

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

How could they come up with this thought? It doesn't even make any sense. Would God have done all of the miraculous actions and events to lead the Israelites into the dessert and just allow them to starve without providing for them? Perhaps they felt this way out of frustration when they didn't see any way that they could be provided for in the wilderness. It appears that God wanted them to learn to depend on Him for their daily provisions and not look to any other source. He also wanted them to realize that He could be depended upon to provide them protection and provision. They forgot all about God and what He had previously done for them and provided for them, they only blamed and accused Moses and Aaron for their current predicament.

Also, it is interesting that the grumbling and complaining came after God had delivered the Israelites from the pursuit of the Egyptians who would have put them all to death had it not been for God's miraculous deliverance of them out of Egypt and judgment of the Egyptians. When they recounted their experiences in Egypt, they only reflected on the positive aspects of their captivity and not the negative aspects. It appears they felt better off in Egypt as opposed to the dessert based on the fact that they at least had food in Egypt. But instead of grumbling and complaining to Moses and Aaron, why didn't they just make their request know to them so that Moses and Aaron could present their request to God who loved them, cared for them and desired to protect and provide for them as was clearly shown based on His actions up til then. It is also interesting that while in Egypt the Israelites had prayed for God to deliver them out of Egypt and didn't understand why their prayers fell on death ears. At that time they weren't thinking about all the benefits of being in Egypt, only the negative and undesirable aspects of their experiences in Egypt. This is typical of human experience. We ask God to do something for us or bring a certain thing to past in our lives, but when he actually grants our request, we complain and grumble about it because it didn't turn out as we had expected. I believe a lot of our requests to God go “unanswered” for this reason, and we should be grateful that He spares us a lot of the pain and difficulty that would have resulted had He granted our request. However, sometimes He allows us to go through certain things for our own good and so we can learn to depend on Him regardless of our present circumstances or situation.

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

Even though the Israelites did not specifically ask God for provision, but grumbled and complained against and accused Aaron and Moses, God decided to provide for them and also test them to see if they would obey Him (follow His instructions), their God, protector, & provider and follow His instructions. God informed Moses that he would provide food for the Israelites in the form of “bread from heaven”, but gave specific instructions of how to gather it and when to gather it.

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.”

It appears that the Israelites believed that they were grumbling and complaining against Aaron and Moses as if they had some say in the plans and decisions of God. They let them know that if they grumbled and complained it was not against them, but God. God had brought them where they were with what they had not Aaron or Moses. They were just as much servants of God as all the rest of the Israelites. God had only decided to use them to speak for Him to the Israelites and also speak to God on behalf of the Israelites. God wanted to give them undeniable and unquestionable evidence that it was He, the living God that they grumbled and complained against and He desired to make Himself known to them by providing them meat in the evening and bread in the morning through miraculous means that only He could bring to past. God wanted the Israelites to know that He had heard their grumbling and complaining and would respond in a way that they would not be able to doubt or question that he was real, willing and able to provide for them, and would do so in a way that only He could bring to past. The gathering of quail in the evening though highly unusual and unlikely could be explained by natural means. The raining down of an unusual substance that only appeared in the morning and prevented them from storing more than specified, should have increased their faith and trust in God. Also, God had instructed them to gather twice as much on the sixth day of the week so they would have enough to eat on the seventh day without having to gather because this was to be a day of rest and they were instructed by God not to work.

9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”

As stated, above God wanted to provide evidence to the Israelites that He really and truly was the One true God, their Lord and the Lord of all. He manifested His glory in the cloud, he provided them quail and informed them that they would have bread in the morning. These acts should have been enough to convince the Israelites that God could be trusted to provide for them in their time of need.

13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a] for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

Even though God had provided for the Israelites and gave them specific instructions through Moses, some of the Israelites still chose to disregard the instructions of Moses and do as they pleased. God wanted the Israelites to accept Moses and Aaron as His mouth piece. If Moses or Aaron had instructed them to do something they should have realized that these instructions originated from God and should have been obeyed. They were not disregarding what Moses had said, but were disobeying what God had instructed them to do.

21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you[c] refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

The lord had to restate his instructions to the Israelites because initially they ignored them. After he restated his commandments and instructions, the Israelites followed them. The Israelites were instructed to gather a double portion of manna on the 6th day of the week and rest on the 7th day. These two instructions were ignored by some of the Israelites even though God had instructed them to obey. Some Israelites attempted to store the manna for the next day and some Israelites attempted to gather manna on the Sabbath even though God himself had instructed them not to do so. God did not immediately judge them for their disobedience however, they were not able to enjoy any of the extra manna they attempted to store and there was no manna to gather on the Sabbath. One would ask, did the Israelites really understand that God had provided for them and realize that they were disobeying him when they attempted to gather additional manna or gather at a time they were instructed not to. Didn't they fear God or have any resolve to obey him? Amazingly God's grace and mercy allowed them to enjoy the quail and manna even though they disobeyed him. It is important to point out that some did obey Him and follow His instructions. God more than likely would have provided the quail and manna to the Isrealites without their grumbling. They only needed to ask/request his provision and He would have graciously and loving heard their cries and provided for them. We could learn a lot by observing the Israelites... We should always obey God and follow His instructions. This is the best way to ensure that we receive only the best that God has for us.

I am not sure what would have happened had the Israelites not complied with God's instructions, but glad to know that we don't have to consider this scenario. A lot of times we also fail to heed the instructions of God initially. We know that our actions do not please Him, but continue to do that which is against and contrary to His will for us. He uses people, circumstances, and situations to convince and encourage us to act in a way that is pleasing to Him and cease to do those things that do not correspond to how children of the living God should act.

31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’” The Israelites ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.”

------God wanted the Israelites to share this event with future Israelites and preserve an omer of the manna to validate that the event did actually occur. It appears that God knew that the future Israelites would have difficulty believing that the event actually did take place so the preserved omer of manna would give undeniable proof.
So God through his actions, instructions, and consequences of disobedience wanted the Israelites to recognize He is who He is and never doubt this. Also, He wanted them to realize that He is always willing and able to provide for them and protect them because He care for them and desired the very best for them. In addition, He wanted them to remember and reflect on His past actions when they were confronted with worry, fear, doubt, concern, etc. that He is able to protect and/or provide for them in any situation or circumstances that they might face, experience or have to endure. We should also know this based on all the many trials and tribulations that God has successfully brought us through. Even though it may seem like He doesn't care, or isn't providing for or protecting us when we are dealing with certain circumstance and situations, we should know that based on past victories that God is willing and able to do and bring to past for us what is best for us and what will ensure that we become all that God desires us to be. He only desires the very best for us and ONLY does, allows, and provides those things to ensure that we grow and mature in our Christianity so that we might serve as examples to others to encourage them to maintain their faith and trust in God when they are faced with challenging, difficult situations and circumstance. All things according to His will and timing. We should realize that God's ways and timing is the very best and we should always know that He is in complete control when we feel that He isn't and doesn't care about our current situations or seeing us through them.

The Unfairness of Life?

“ That's not FAIR”, “Life isn't FAIR”....

Have you ever heard someone say these phrases? I really don't think people realize what they are saying when they utter these phrases. It appears that some people feel like their lives should go a certain way and if not, then that isn't fair. How can we assume that we can have a certain life free of certain disasters, tragedies, difficulties, etc.? The only way this could be possible is to limit everyone free will and freedom to choose to participate or not to participate in certain activities, situation and circumstances that may or may not be detrimental to their lives and the lives of others. It is of course true that our negative, sinful choices have a tendency of reducing the quality of life of others and also our own life. We want the right to do what ever we want, when ever we want, where ever we want, for as long as we want regardless of how these actions, conducts, behavior, decisions affect our lives or the lives of others. However it appears that we are not willing to accept that everyone else should have the same freedom. We want to limit their freedom if it means that suffer or experience detriment as a result. How can God ensure anyone any particular life free of certain unwanted experiences or circumstances in light of these freedoms that feel we are entitled to? All negative experiences that we experience is due to our own or someone's negligence, ignorance, or willful decisions, behaviors, and habits. How can we say life isn't FAIR in light of this fact? Of course some would say that if they contracted a fatal disease or medical condition, that would not be fair as far as they are concerned, but no one is guaranteed any particular quality or condition in life. We have to make the best out the life they we have regardless of what we have experienced in the past or will experience in the future. We should make the best out of difficult, challenging, undesirable, or detrimental situations and circumstances that we my face or have faced in the past. After all any of these experiences could be much worse. Here are (2) scenarios to consider which could shed some light of the belief that “Life isn't fair” or that it is “unfair that certain things happen to us or we have to experience or endure. Let's say that you are given the ability to determine before hand what you will experience in your life from the time that you become self-aware til your death. You could determine your family, social status, financial status, health condition, experiences both good and bad, etc (I wonder if given this option would anybody include negative, detrimental, challenging, difficult experiences in the life that the create for themselves). Anyway, if you so wish, you could decide that your life would not include any negative or undesirable experiences and circumstances... that only good and positive things would be included. Anyway, you decided... what ever you want, however you want it, with who ever you want it, for as long as you wanted. You decide. In this scenario you could never say something was “unfair” because you have decided how your life will be lived til you die. There is one catch to this scenario, since you have decided your life apart from how God would want you to live it, you would forfeit any eternal existence with Him after death. In other words you would die and experience a “Godless” eternity. Not only would God not be included in your life after death, but no quality of God would be experienced either. No love, grace, mercy, peace, comfort, fellowship, hope, conversation, etc. Basically you would experience “HELL” in every since of the word after you die. If this life were possible would you still think that the ability to determine your life on the earth would be worth spending an eternity apart from God? Now let's consider the second scenario. Let's say that God has determined the life that you will live prior to your birth. All the experiences both good and bad, who will be a part of your life (& for how long), etc. until you die. Regardless of what you experiences or didn't experience, since God knows best ultimately you would spend all eternity with Him enjoying All that He is and All that He has after death. Basically you would experience “HEAVEN” in every since of the word after you die. If this was possible, would you forfeit the ability to choose how to live your own life and submit to God's wise direction and guidance knowing that you would ultimately experience all eternity with Him in heaven?
Of course God knows what is best for us. God has the ability to be with us and offer us comfort, strength, grace, wisdom, etc. to go through certain experiences and circumstances that we would not want to experience if given the choice. Is it unfair for God to allow us to experience certain circumstances and situations that may be difficult, challenging, detrimental, etc.? The only reason He allows these things is to make us better people, demonstrate that his Grace is sufficient to see us through these things, and to ensure that we will be with him for all eternity. God's ultimate desire is to do what ever it takes to ensure as many of us as possible will experience eternity with Him after death.
How could we ever say that life or some experience or circumstance that we may experience is “unfair” if this ultimately ensures our eternal presence with God after death?

I am sure that most people would choose to suffer a little while and then experience no suffering for all eternity instead of choosing to not suffer a little while and experience ultimate suffering for all eternity.

When we choose to live our lives a certain way apart from any direction or guidance from God, we may experience more positive, pleasurable, desirable, enjoyable circumstances and experiences, but we will experience things that aren't so enjoyable, however none of this matters if we ultimately forfeit our lives for all eternity.

We should humbly submit our lives to the guidance and direction of God who is All-knowing, All-loving, All-powerful and is solely capable of ensuring our eternal destiny instead of attempting to lead our own lives.

If we decide to live our own lives apart from any guidance and direction from GOD, the benefits will be little and temporary, but the consequences will be detrimental and eternal.

Something to think about next time your are tempting to say life or something that you experience or are faced with is "unfair".....

For what is the hope of the godless and polluted, even though he has gained [in this world], when God cuts him off and takes away his life? Job 27:8, Amplified Bible

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life [his blessed life in the kingdom of God]? Or what would a man give as an exchange for his [blessed] life [in the kingdom of God]? Matthew 16:26, Amplified Bible

We are assured and know that God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Romans 8:28, Amplified Bible
For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!], 2 Corinthians 4:17, Amplified Bible
For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently. 1 Corinthians 10:13, Amplified Bible
May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).
By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.
2 Peter 1:2-4, Amplified Bible

Interesting WORD Picture...read on....

Picture this, if you will- you are on a luxury cruise (destination, location not important). The weather is beautiful. Everyone is having a good time. You are eating the best food and enjoying the best drinks lounging on the deck or in the pool, etc. watching a feature film on the jumbo HD, surround sound screen with friends new and old and all of sudden the screen goes black, the sound is muted and an overhead voice reads the following words as they scroll across the screen – “Attention, in the event of disaster, tragedy or emergency there are rescue boats available along the entire deck that can be used to exit the vessel…”. While this message is being read, several passengers become annoyed and start screaming, “put the movie back on!!”, “this is ridiculous!!”, “come on.. enough already!!”, “Play the movie!!!”, etc. The notice continues with the best exit routes that will lead to the boats and then thanks the passengers for their patience and apologizes for the inconvenience and then returns back to the feature film. Everyone claps and shouts “Yay!!”, “bout time!”, “…geez!” and continues to enjoy the feature film. Very few people were even paying attention to the safety precaution that was read to them. After all what could possibly go wrong on such a beautiful day? They were confident in their safety and security and didn’t feel the need to pay attention during the precautionary message. They were thinking instead about wanting to see the rest of the featured film and enjoying their food, drink, and company. However, if over the loud speaker and on the movie screen the following statement was read and displayed “Attention, a dangerous and toxic gas leak has occurred in the engine room and all passengers need to escape the vessel in an orderly manner. There are boats available along the perimeter of each deck. There are enough boats and enough time for us all to exit the cruise ship before the gas reaches our deck. Please follow the designated path to the boat nearest you….” I am pretty sure no one would care about the next scene in the featured film or the tasty food, or the great conversations they were having. Their only concern would be to ensure that all of their loved ones and friends got a place on one of the boats. Also, I am pretty sure that even though they had been informed that there was enough time and enough boats, more than likely pandemonium, panic, and hysteria would soon ensue. It is amazing how easy it is for us to believe that we are safe and secure with very little chance of experiencing any disaster, emergencies, or tragedies. We rarely take precautions or plan ahead because of this. It would behoove us all if we took heed to the voice of God available from words in the bible, “For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [[a]not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character]…. namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory [b]which God bestows and receives”. (Rom. 3-20,22-23); “He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]” (John 3:18); While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly. Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us. Therefore, since we are now justified ([f]acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ's blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin's dominion) through His [[g]resurrection] life. Not only so, but we also rejoice and exultingly glory in God [in His love and perfection] through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received and enjoy [our] reconciliation. Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [[h]no one being able to stop it or to escape its power] because all men sinned” (Rom. 5:6-12); “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). You can choose to heed these warnings and information or continue to lull yourself in a (false) sense of being safe and secure even though – “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mathew 10:28); and finally “And just as it is appointed for [all] men once to die, and after that the [certain] judgment,” (Hebrew 9:27).
Or you can ignore his warning and continue living your life and hope for the best…
It’s your choice. If you have already heeded the word of God, please share with others.
Thanks for your time and God’s richest blessings, grace, & peace 2 u and yours in all your future endeavors.

No such thing as "Luck"... so why say "Good Luck" (Anymore) somthing to think about...

Has anyone ever shared with you something they were about to go through, experience, participate in, or perform and your knee jerk response was “Good Luck”? What does this phrase “really” mean? What is “luck”? Also, why do we add the qualifying adjective “good” to it? We say this as if there is something called “luck” that could actually sway the outcome of our experience. Perhaps we are saying that outcomes are a result of chance and that you have a 50-50 “chance” for things to go in your favor and they are hoping that by chance the outcome will be good. The fact is, “Luck” really doesn’t exist and whether you respond to person, “Good Luck”, “Bad Luck”, “Luck” or “No Luck” has NO bearing at all on the outcome of any pending circumstance or experience they will experience. With this in mind, I am not sure why most people continue to say “Good Luck” in these situations or circumstances. Also, I am not sure why some people believe that they will benefit from someone wishing them “luck” or “good luck”. The truth is that God is sovereign over the outcome of all, any, and every circumstance or situation that we experience. It is in accordance to HIS (and HIS ALONE) sovereign, divine will for our lives. Think about it, can two forces be both sovereign? This could never be. Only one being can be sovereign over all or no being is sovereign over all. If no being is sovereign over all, then we would only have “chance” or “luck” to consider. However, the Bible clearly states in James 1:16 & 17, “Do not be misled, my beloved brethren. Do not be misled, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect ([d]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].”. This should be an encouraging passage of scripture to us all. To actually know that God loves us, cares for us, has a plan for us and that we are not living, experiencing, encountering, enduring, participating, etc. in things simply out of chance and the results of all of encounters also are “chance” outcomes with no real purpose or meaning. An interesting story from the Old Testament should be considered to shed further light on this topic. In the Old Testament Book of I Samuel 6: 1-12, Basically, the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines who were experiencing the wrath of God through plagues via an infestation of rats and disease that had come upon the city. The philistines had decided to return the ark in hopes that the plagues would subside…
When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.” They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.” The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way? “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.” So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. 
Even back then, people were attempting to prove that there was such a thing as “chance” or in modern language “luck”. Which meant that there was no One/thing behind or directing things that happen in our life. They just happen for no rhyme or reason, purpose or point. We can only hope that the odds weigh in our favor or positively on our behalf. Hopefully, if people wish and hope this for us, that somehow the random outcome could be swayed towards our benefit. We have no way of swaying a random outcome, that just happens. Our response of “Good Luck” doesn’t attribute anything to a person. We have established that there is no such thing as “chance” or “luck”. God is sovereign over all outcomes. I would love to start a movement for all people to respond in these situations, “Blessed Success” as opposed to “Good Luck”. “Blessed Success” gives credit to whom and only whom credit is due, God. He and only He is the “real” key and source of our success. His gracious gifts and talents bestowed upon us enables us to be successful or have a positive outcomes from the various experiences, circumstances, situations, encounters, predicaments, tests, etc. that we are involved with in our life time. He and only He should be acknowledged. When we say “Blessed Success” this is sort of a prayer for us on behalf of the person and in accordance to the sovereign will of God. We are saying in these two words, that we hope that you find success in your pending endeavor and we hope that this success is Blessed in accordance with the sovereign will, purpose, plan that God has for your life. Hopefully, you will join me in this movement. From now on instead of responding “Good Luck” in the future, join me in responding “Blessed Success” instead. Thanks for your time. God's richest Blessings, Grace & Favor in all your present and future endeavors.