Relationships......

Was touched by the devotional materials written by Pastor Holladay... After Daddy fall ill and admitted hospital, when adversity strike with God’s permission, our Lord has brought our family closer in His gracious Love....
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Jesus Taught Nothing Is More Important Than Relationships by Tom Holladay

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11 (NIV)
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Today’s guest devotional is from Tom Holladay, teaching pastor at Saddleback Church.

Relationships are filled with both wonder and pain. When I think of the pain of relationships, literally hundreds of pictures flood into my mind from my thirty years as a pastor:

· A couple on the verge of a divorce neither one wants yet both are choosing.

· Parents who can’t get through to their child, no matter how much time, money, and heartache they invest.

· A son whose dad has treated him with the cruel contempt of abuse.

· A friend whose feeling of betrayal is so deep that she never wants to trust anyone again.

When I consider the wonder of relationships, I am equally overwhelmed:

· A marriage no one thought could be restored — but it was.

· Friendships in a small group that have become the bedrock of life.

· A family that would surely fall apart when the pressure of an illness hit — and yet they all came together in the most amazing way.

When Jesus came to this earth, he demonstrated that he understands both the wonder and the pain of your relationships. He experienced them both.

He came to begin a new relationship with you — a relationship that will strengthen all your relationships. Here’s the truth Jesus taught us: Nothing is more important than relationships.

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Today’s devotional is excerpted from The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay (Zondervan 2008). You can find out more about this book at http://www.saddlebackresources.com/.