On Staying Single and Being Genuinely Happy
by Neil Clark Warren
March 2003

I’ve maintained for years that you can be a totally contented person without ever being married. I know many happy singles and, unfortunately, I know too many miserable marrieds. Happiness and marital status are, it seems to me, totally independent.

It’s a deep inner sense of contentment that most of us want more than anything else in life, and this kind of contentment is far more the result of our “soul” health than anything having to do with our marital status. And while I talk about finding your “soul mate,” I am convinced that the health of your soul has more to do with the relationship you currently have with yourself. So, how is your soul? How are you enjoying being you? How are you doing down at the center of yourself?

I want to share five “secrets” for maximizing the quality of your soul life. These proceed from the most concrete to the most theoretical.

First, to be contented at the center of your soul, you need a good night’s sleep. I’ve been grumpy lately. It finally occurred to me only yesterday that I’m sleep deprived. Archibald Hart, in his book Adrenaline and Stress, says that you need to get nine hours of rest every night. I don’t even come close, and I’m convinced that my lack of sleep has contributed generously to my grumpiness. I really worked to make my sleep better last night. I ate a light dinner, read “happy” material before I dozed off, and concentrated on relaxing my body. I slept significantly better, and this has been my best day in weeks.

Second, you need to surround yourself with a stable of close friends. Close friends play four main roles in your life: they comfort you when your life is sluggish, frustrating, or painful; they listen and help you find your way when life is confusing; they hold you accountable when you are struggling to maintain control of your impulses; and they celebrate and laugh with you all the time. Show me a person with three to five close friends of the same sex and one or two of the opposite (more…)

My heart grieves at what I am seeing and hearing around me. As a former missionary and someone who works with the youth, I have heard so many depressing and shocking stories - stories of alcohol and drug addiction, promiscuity and homosexuality. What’s worse is that even Christians are getting drawn in to this.

I remember a conversation I had with a friend about a Bible school graduate who now works for a call center. He threw out what he learned and got into the humanistic lifestyle. He is just one of the many out there who are now walking the same (more…)

Waiting is our destiny. We wait for almost anything to happen to us and to other people. It is waiting for the “not yets” to happen in God’s perfect timing. Even if difficult, the Bible says to wait upon the Lord for strength will be given to those who are willing to patiently wait as an act of obedience.

There were many figures in the Bible who waited patiently for God’s response. In Genesis, Abraham at 75 was promised by God a son and will be the Father of all nations. Seemingly impossible, God answered him after 24 years. Hannah, a faithful woman, was waiting for a child so she sought God in prayer and was blessed with one who became one of the most important people in the salvation history. In the New Testament, Simeon in his old age, was waiting for the Messiah. He wished to be dismissed in peace for he had already seen the salvation prepared for the sight of God’s people.

The grace of God enables us, his people, to wait upon Him. Romans 8:18-25 clearly explains that our present sufferings(and waiting) are not worth comparing with the what God will reveal to us in the future. So what is the most practical thing to do? Wait patiently and confidently in God because the future glory is yet to come. God has prepared heaven for His true children. To wait in the Lord is to seek for His commands and Word.

To wait on the Lord is to obey and patiently cling to God. Waiting is the “art of hoping” and it requires the following :

• TRUST
• CONFIDENT HUMILITY
• INDISTINGUISHABLE HOPE

But when will be the end of waiting? God only knows. His design for our life is unknown and waiting is just one step of the way. He may answer in ways we do not expect but rest assured that the future will be glorious.

Article written by Reah Bunsoy

Embrace Your Inner Pentecostal
“Holy Spirit religion” is quietly infiltrating the church, revitalizing us all.
Chris Armstrong

I recently attended a Midwestern Baptist church in which the pastor directed his congregation to pray with hands extended toward a “pray-ee”—a man standing at the front. Since I’d worshiped in a Pentecostal church for ten years after my conversion as a young adult, I immediately recognized the gesture as a mark of Pentecostal spirituality. Indeed, I discovered later that the Baptist pastor had once been a Pentecostal pastor.

Two thoughts sprang to mind that Sunday morning. First, I realized there are dozens of visible clues associated with Pentecostal churches. People fall “under the power.” Congregants stand to prophesy, speak in tongues, or interpret. Arms are raised during prayer and worship. People dance in the Spirit. Pentecostalism is nothing if not physical and active.

Second, while most of these practices remain confined to Pentecostal churches, many non-Pentecostal (and non-charismatic) congregations have become “Pentecostalized” in other ways. Contemporary worship style is an oft-noted influence of Pentecostalism, with congregations of all stripes now singing choruses and praise music, even raising their hands in adoration. But “Holy Spirit religion” is leaving its deepest mark in less visible, more significant ways.

A Spirit of Spontaneity

A typical Pentecostal service follows no printed order; bulletins, if present, contain only announcements. After all, why should an order be needed? “All the members expect anyone of the local assembly to (more…)