The Desires of Your Heart

The Desires of Your Heart

“Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalm 37:4 KJV

  I do not believe that this Scripture is referring to your lusts and fleshly passions when it talks about the desires of your heart. If that is what it meant, God would be condoning sin! God does place His desires in your heart for a reason as you seek Him. One desire that has really been on my heart for years is a wife: even a little boy I’ve looked forward to getting married and having a family. I don’t see God moving in this area; yet He is working in my life. HE placed that desire in my heart for a reason, and God is never slow about carrying out His promises. As I continue to delight myself in the Lord, spend time in His presence, and share His Word, I am sure that His perfect timing will fulfill every desire that is from Him. Any lustful or sinful desire; however, will be cast to the ground for sin cannot dwell in the heart of a person after God. Sin may tempt, but it cannot inhabit a vessel of the Lord unless Satan is given a foothold, for what fellowship has light with darkness, life with death; how does a good tree produce bad fruit?

Close today in prayer and then read all of Psalm 37; as you do so be prepared to learn from the Holy Spirit.

Lack of Dependence on Each Other = DIVORCE ???

 Lack of Dependence on Each Other = DIVORCE ???

    Dear readers, as much as some of us hate to admit it, we are all dependent on others. For example, I am more dependent on my parents than I let on. They counsel me, bandage my bruises, and instruct me in the way of the Lord; but I still have a choice to make: will I be healthily dependent on them? What I mean is that I need to grow up, get a job, move out and get married one day. It wouldn’t be healthy to be dependent on them for everything when I’m 40 when I have the capacity physically and mentally to provide for myself and a family.

     Without the same principle of dependence, a marriage is not possible. A husband and a wife are supposed to “become one” (Gen. 2:24). What does that mean? I have heard Kevin Swanson illustrate it this way:  an ax head and an ax handle are both needed to have an ax, right? One piece alone cannot, and will not efficiently cut down the tree. In the same way a man and a woman that have married need each other to “get-the-job-done.”

        When marriage is no longer dependence on one another; but rather, two separate people that just said some vows, live together, and have children, there is no reason for a marriage to continue in many minds. People get bored of a life like that. But God meant marriage to be so much more than what we think it is. It is to be the foundation of the family, yet also an intimate relationship where two people become one in the sight of God. O this is a mystery!

 

Dear Christians, the divorce rate is higher in the Church than the world!

We do NOT live what we preach and what Jesus taught!

 

      Young adults, children, young men and women, older boys and girls or whatever you want to be labeled, you need to ground your marriage in God! Both of you being dependent on God together will be the strongest binding force of your marriage. Please, do not just become another statistic in the divorce rates when you get older. You have a role to play in a lasting marriage! When you marry, you have a part to play in the one person that emerges from two. Work together, love each other, but most importantly grow in Christ’s Truth together!

     Dependence is a key to marriage. You must be dependent on each other and God; you cannot separate through divorce, that is the only way a marriage can last. Husbands, no other woman will do. Wives, there is no other man for you. You are made for one person. Your vows last the whole lifetime that you are both to spend in this world. Live, learn, and grow in God’s love; grace; purpose; plan and everything else HE has for YOU TWO.

Read 1 Peter 3:1-7.

Know, Court, Marry

Know, Court, Marry

       For more information on these three items (know, court, marry) read Passion and Purity or Quest for Love by Elizabeth Elliot. They are awesome books!

Know: Getting to know the opposite sex. When I say getting to know I mean just talking, hanging out—in groups, spending time with other families, ect…  I do not mean sex and lust. You can have clean, meaningful friendships with those of the opposite sex without dating them or pursuing temptation.

Court: A period of time in which you move toward engagement and marriage after having consulted your parents and other mature Christians, but, most importantly, you have already received the approval of the Lord through prayer and seeking His will. 

Marriage: Uniting for as long as you both shall live.

Interested in somebody, but don’t know if you should say something?

#1 Go to God in prayer asking for direction and His will to be done.

Perquisite:  If you are a Christian you can only pursue a “relationship” with another Christian. The Lord has warned us not to be unequally yoked (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

#2 Go to your parents and other mature Christian counselors (older people than you), and talk to them about the person you are interested in. Ask them to partner with you in prayer and keep in touch. In short, have some accountability.

#3 Go to her Dad and ask for permission to court his daughter with the intention of marriage. Young men, I encourage you to do this before you say anything to the girl. There are many reasons why I say this, but the primary one is that her father deserves your respect. He, hopefully, is and has been the primary man in her life, and out of respect you should ask him about his little girl. If you don’t agree with me, then I ask you to put yourself in his position: how would you feel if your daughter is “going-out” with a young man that you know nothing about? That should be enough to send chills up and down your spine.

      Courting is not a synonym of dating. Dating is usually based on lust. Here’s why: a guy sees a girl that is “hot” and so he asks her out. His thoughts are nowhere near pure and his intention possibly worse. This is not God-honoring and it certainly is not honoring to the young woman. The purpose of courting is to get to know each other and find out if God wants the two of you to marry and when you know that it is, to take wise, Spirit-lead steps to preparation for your marriage.

     For the girls out there saying, “But what about a girl that is interested in a particular guy, should she go to his Dad?” The answer is no. Girls, you should not do the asking or pursue the young man. He is supposed to be the leader in the home and, if you marry him, he is to be the head of the household. If you pursue him, it would be easy for you two to get your roles mixed up from the very beginning. A woman leading her household is not operating in her God-given role, if her husband is still alive (Eph. 5:22-33).

#4 Talk to HER or HIM. Be careful and remember that your goal is to honor what God wants for each of you. Maybe God has already revealed to you that you would marry that person, but this doesn’t mean that you skip the courtship stage. Courtship does not have a time limit attached to it; but you should strive to keep God as the focus. Don’t just spend time alone together. Spend time during your courtship with each other’s families, serving at church, etc.… Don’t just stay alone together! Only spending time alone puts you in the center of the devil’s physical fun zone mentality. I would even submit that you do not spend time alone, period, before marriage. Scripture warns us to flee sexual temptation; not walk into situations where we know there could be some temptation and just resist. Therefore, I purpose, avoiding the temptation altogether—to flee like Joseph!—by going places with friends and family together instead. After all, when you marry, you will need to know each other’s family, so why not start spending time with all of them from the very beginning?

      The courtship model is much closer to what occurred in ancient Israel and colonial America than our current “progressive” search for finding a mate; and quite frankly, I think they understood this process to marriage a lot better.

      We have looked at a lot today and we have done so very briefly. Above all else, please seek the Lord’s will! Whether you completely agree with me or not, what is one principle that you know is Scriptural and that you can put into action that you saw today? Put it into action.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 KJV

 

Know, Court, Marry

Know, Court, Marry

       For more information on these three items (know, court, marry) read Passion and Purity or Quest for Love by Elizabeth Elliot. They are awesome books!

Know: Getting to know the opposite sex. When I say getting to know I mean just talking, hanging out—in groups, spending time with other families, ect…  I do not mean sex and lust. You can have clean, meaningful friendships with those of the opposite sex without dating them or pursuing temptation.

Court: A period of time in which you move toward engagement and marriage after having consulted your parents and other mature Christians, but, most importantly, you have already received the approval of the Lord through prayer and seeking His will. 

Marriage: Uniting for as long as you both shall live.

Interested in somebody, but don’t know if you should say something?

#1 Go to God in prayer asking for direction and His will to be done.

Perquisite:  If you are a Christian you can only pursue a “relationship” with another Christian. The Lord has warned us not to be unequally yoked (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

#2 Go to your parents and other mature Christian counselors (older people than you), and talk to them about the person you are interested in. Ask them to partner with you in prayer and keep in touch. In short, have some accountability.

#3 Go to her Dad and ask for permission to court his daughter with the intention of marriage. Young men, I encourage you to do this before you say anything to the girl. There are many reasons why I say this, but the primary one is that her father deserves your respect. He, hopefully, is and has been the primary man in her life, and out of respect you should ask him about his little girl. If you don’t agree with me, then I ask you to put yourself in his position: how would you feel if your daughter is “going-out” with a young man that you know nothing about? That should be enough to send chills up and down your spine.

      Courting is not a synonym of dating. Dating is usually based on lust. Here’s why: a guy sees a girl that is “hot” and so he asks her out. His thoughts are nowhere near pure and his intention possibly worse. This is not God-honoring and it certainly is not honoring to the young woman. The purpose of courting is to get to know each other and find out if God wants the two of you to marry and when you know that it is, to take wise, Spirit-lead steps to preparation for your marriage.

     For the girls out there saying, “But what about a girl that is interested in a particular guy, should she go to his Dad?” The answer is no. Girls, you should not do the asking or pursue the young man. He is supposed to be the leader in the home and, if you marry him, he is to be the head of the household. If you pursue him, it would be easy for you two to get your roles mixed up from the very beginning. A woman leading her household is not operating in her God-given role, if her husband is still alive (Eph. 5:22-33).

#4 Talk to HER or HIM. Be careful and remember that your goal is to honor what God wants for each of you. Maybe God has already revealed to you that you would marry that person, but this doesn’t mean that you skip the courtship stage. Courtship does not have a time limit attached to it; but you should strive to keep God as the focus. Don’t just spend time alone together. Spend time during your courtship with each other’s families, serving at church, etc.… Don’t just stay alone together! Only spending time alone puts you in the center of the devil’s physical fun zone mentality. I would even submit that you do not spend time alone, period, before marriage. Scripture warns us to flee sexual temptation; not walk into situations where we know there could be some temptation and just resist. Therefore, I purpose, avoiding the temptation altogether—to flee like Joseph!—by going places with friends and family together instead. After all, when you marry, you will need to know each other’s family, so why not start spending time with all of them from the very beginning?

      The courtship model is much closer to what occurred in ancient Israel and colonial America than our current “progressive” search for finding a mate; and quite frankly, I think they understood this process to marriage a lot better.

      We have looked at a lot today and we have done so very briefly. Above all else, please seek the Lord’s will! Whether you completely agree with me or not, what is one principle that you know is Scriptural and that you can put into action that you saw today? Put it into action.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 KJV

 

Know, Court, Marry

Know, Court, Marry

       For more information on these three items (know, court, marry) read Passion and Purity or Quest for Love by Elizabeth Elliot. They are awesome books!

Know: Getting to know the opposite sex. When I say getting to know I mean just talking, hanging out—in groups, spending time with other families, ect…  I do not mean sex and lust. You can have clean, meaningful friendships with those of the opposite sex without dating them or pursuing temptation.

Court: A period of time in which you move toward engagement and marriage after having consulted your parents and other mature Christians, but, most importantly, you have already received the approval of the Lord through prayer and seeking His will. 

Marriage: Uniting for as long as you both shall live.

Interested in somebody, but don’t know if you should say something?

#1 Go to God in prayer asking for direction and His will to be done.

Perquisite:  If you are a Christian you can only pursue a “relationship” with another Christian. The Lord has warned us not to be unequally yoked (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

#2 Go to your parents and other mature Christian counselors (older people than you), and talk to them about the person you are interested in. Ask them to partner with you in prayer and keep in touch. In short, have some accountability.

#3 Go to her Dad and ask for permission to court his daughter with the intention of marriage. Young men, I encourage you to do this before you say anything to the girl. There are many reasons why I say this, but the primary one is that her father deserves your respect. He, hopefully, is and has been the primary man in her life, and out of respect you should ask him about his little girl. If you don’t agree with me, then I ask you to put yourself in his position: how would you feel if your daughter is “going-out” with a young man that you know nothing about? That should be enough to send chills up and down your spine.

      Courting is not a synonym of dating. Dating is usually based on lust. Here’s why: a guy sees a girl that is “hot” and so he asks her out. His thoughts are nowhere near pure and his intention possibly worse. This is not God-honoring and it certainly is not honoring to the young woman. The purpose of courting is to get to know each other and find out if God wants the two of you to marry and when you know that it is, to take wise, Spirit-lead steps to preparation for your marriage.

     For the girls out there saying, “But what about a girl that is interested in a particular guy, should she go to his Dad?” The answer is no. Girls, you should not do the asking or pursue the young man. He is supposed to be the leader in the home and, if you marry him, he is to be the head of the household. If you pursue him, it would be easy for you two to get your roles mixed up from the very beginning. A woman leading her household is not operating in her God-given role, if her husband is still alive (Eph. 5:22-33).

#4 Talk to HER or HIM. Be careful and remember that your goal is to honor what God wants for each of you. Maybe God has already revealed to you that you would marry that person, but this doesn’t mean that you skip the courtship stage. Courtship does not have a time limit attached to it; but you should strive to keep God as the focus. Don’t just spend time alone together. Spend time during your courtship with each other’s families, serving at church, etc.… Don’t just stay alone together! Only spending time alone puts you in the center of the devil’s physical fun zone mentality. I would even submit that you do not spend time alone, period, before marriage. Scripture warns us to flee sexual temptation; not walk into situations where we know there could be some temptation and just resist. Therefore, I purpose, avoiding the temptation altogether—to flee like Joseph!—by going places with friends and family together instead. After all, when you marry, you will need to know each other’s family, so why not start spending time with all of them from the very beginning?

      The courtship model is much closer to what occurred in ancient Israel and colonial America than our current “progressive” search for finding a mate; and quite frankly, I think they understood this process to marriage a lot better.

      We have looked at a lot today and we have done so very briefly. Above all else, please seek the Lord’s will! Whether you completely agree with me or not, what is one principle that you know is Scriptural and that you can put into action that you saw today? Put it into action.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 KJV

 

Know, Court, Marry

Know, Court, Marry

       For more information on these three items (know, court, marry) read Passion and Purity or Quest for Love by Elizabeth Elliot. They are awesome books!

Know: Getting to know the opposite sex. When I say getting to know I mean just talking, hanging out—in groups, spending time with other families, ect…  I do not mean sex and lust. You can have clean, meaningful friendships with those of the opposite sex without dating them or pursuing temptation.

Court: A period of time in which you move toward engagement and marriage after having consulted your parents and other mature Christians, but, most importantly, you have already received the approval of the Lord through prayer and seeking His will. 

Marriage: Uniting for as long as you both shall live.

Interested in somebody, but don’t know if you should say something?

#1 Go to God in prayer asking for direction and His will to be done.

Perquisite:  If you are a Christian you can only pursue a “relationship” with another Christian. The Lord has warned us not to be unequally yoked (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

#2 Go to your parents and other mature Christian counselors (older people than you), and talk to them about the person you are interested in. Ask them to partner with you in prayer and keep in touch. In short, have some accountability.

#3 Go to her Dad and ask for permission to court his daughter with the intention of marriage. Young men, I encourage you to do this before you say anything to the girl. There are many reasons why I say this, but the primary one is that her father deserves your respect. He, hopefully, is and has been the primary man in her life, and out of respect you should ask him about his little girl. If you don’t agree with me, then I ask you to put yourself in his position: how would you feel if your daughter is “going-out” with a young man that you know nothing about? That should be enough to send chills up and down your spine.

      Courting is not a synonym of dating. Dating is usually based on lust. Here’s why: a guy sees a girl that is “hot” and so he asks her out. His thoughts are nowhere near pure and his intention possibly worse. This is not God-honoring and it certainly is not honoring to the young woman. The purpose of courting is to get to know each other and find out if God wants the two of you to marry and when you know that it is, to take wise, Spirit-lead steps to preparation for your marriage.

     For the girls out there saying, “But what about a girl that is interested in a particular guy, should she go to his Dad?” The answer is no. Girls, you should not do the asking or pursue the young man. He is supposed to be the leader in the home and, if you marry him, he is to be the head of the household. If you pursue him, it would be easy for you two to get your roles mixed up from the very beginning. A woman leading her household is not operating in her God-given role, if her husband is still alive (Eph. 5:22-33).

#4 Talk to HER or HIM. Be careful and remember that your goal is to honor what God wants for each of you. Maybe God has already revealed to you that you would marry that person, but this doesn’t mean that you skip the courtship stage. Courtship does not have a time limit attached to it; but you should strive to keep God as the focus. Don’t just spend time alone together. Spend time during your courtship with each other’s families, serving at church, etc.… Don’t just stay alone together! Only spending time alone puts you in the center of the devil’s physical fun zone mentality. I would even submit that you do not spend time alone, period, before marriage. Scripture warns us to flee sexual temptation; not walk into situations where we know there could be some temptation and just resist. Therefore, I purpose, avoiding the temptation altogether—to flee like Joseph!—by going places with friends and family together instead. After all, when you marry, you will need to know each other’s family, so why not start spending time with all of them from the very beginning?

      The courtship model is much closer to what occurred in ancient Israel and colonial America than our current “progressive” search for finding a mate; and quite frankly, I think they understood this process to marriage a lot better.

      We have looked at a lot today and we have done so very briefly. Above all else, please seek the Lord’s will! Whether you completely agree with me or not, what is one principle that you know is Scriptural and that you can put into action that you saw today? Put it into action.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 KJV

 

Know, Court, Marry

Know, Court, Marry

       For more information on these three items (know, court, marry) read Passion and Purity or Quest for Love by Elizabeth Elliot. They are awesome books!

Know: Getting to know the opposite sex. When I say getting to know I mean just talking, hanging out—in groups, spending time with other families, ect…  I do not mean sex and lust. You can have clean, meaningful friendships with those of the opposite sex without dating them or pursuing temptation.

Court: A period of time in which you move toward engagement and marriage after having consulted your parents and other mature Christians, but, most importantly, you have already received the approval of the Lord through prayer and seeking His will. 

Marriage: Uniting for as long as you both shall live.

Interested in somebody, but don’t know if you should say something?

#1 Go to God in prayer asking for direction and His will to be done.

Perquisite:  If you are a Christian you can only pursue a “relationship” with another Christian. The Lord has warned us not to be unequally yoked (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

#2 Go to your parents and other mature Christian counselors (older people than you), and talk to them about the person you are interested in. Ask them to partner with you in prayer and keep in touch. In short, have some accountability.

#3 Go to her Dad and ask for permission to court his daughter with the intention of marriage. Young men, I encourage you to do this before you say anything to the girl. There are many reasons why I say this, but the primary one is that her father deserves your respect. He, hopefully, is and has been the primary man in her life, and out of respect you should ask him about his little girl. If you don’t agree with me, then I ask you to put yourself in his position: how would you feel if your daughter is “going-out” with a young man that you know nothing about? That should be enough to send chills up and down your spine.

      Courting is not a synonym of dating. Dating is usually based on lust. Here’s why: a guy sees a girl that is “hot” and so he asks her out. His thoughts are nowhere near pure and his intention possibly worse. This is not God-honoring and it certainly is not honoring to the young woman. The purpose of courting is to get to know each other and find out if God wants the two of you to marry and when you know that it is, to take wise, Spirit-lead steps to preparation for your marriage.

     For the girls out there saying, “But what about a girl that is interested in a particular guy, should she go to his Dad?” The answer is no. Girls, you should not do the asking or pursue the young man. He is supposed to be the leader in the home and, if you marry him, he is to be the head of the household. If you pursue him, it would be easy for you two to get your roles mixed up from the very beginning. A woman leading her household is not operating in her God-given role, if her husband is still alive (Eph. 5:22-33).

#4 Talk to HER or HIM. Be careful and remember that your goal is to honor what God wants for each of you. Maybe God has already revealed to you that you would marry that person, but this doesn’t mean that you skip the courtship stage. Courtship does not have a time limit attached to it; but you should strive to keep God as the focus. Don’t just spend time alone together. Spend time during your courtship with each other’s families, serving at church, etc.… Don’t just stay alone together! Only spending time alone puts you in the center of the devil’s physical fun zone mentality. I would even submit that you do not spend time alone, period, before marriage. Scripture warns us to flee sexual temptation; not walk into situations where we know there could be some temptation and just resist. Therefore, I purpose, avoiding the temptation altogether—to flee like Joseph!—by going places with friends and family together instead. After all, when you marry, you will need to know each other’s family, so why not start spending time with all of them from the very beginning?

      The courtship model is much closer to what occurred in ancient Israel and colonial America than our current “progressive” search for finding a mate; and quite frankly, I think they understood this process to marriage a lot better.

      We have looked at a lot today and we have done so very briefly. Above all else, please seek the Lord’s will! Whether you completely agree with me or not, what is one principle that you know is Scriptural and that you can put into action that you saw today? Put it into action.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 KJV

 

The Three Big Decisions of Your life

The Three Big Decisions of Your life

The way I see it, there are three major decisions/events in a person’s life.

            #1 Accepting Christ’s free gift of salvation is the most important event in your life coupled with maintaining a vibrant relationship with Him through communion with the Holy Spirit.

             #2 The calling that God has placed on you. Everyone has a calling (2 Peter 1:10). Your calling can be to serve in ministry, your career, a hobby, serving at your church, simply listening to people, and the list goes on. The possibilities are huge and fathomless because God makes us unique people that can use our talents in specific, yet personal ways. God has a specific thing—or things!—that He wants you to do in your lifetime. Have you sought Him for what that or those things are? Why or why not?

              #3 The greatest decision that you will ever make in the natural world is who you marry. You will be bonded to this person for the rest of your earthly lives; you will need to follow God’s leading together in your marriage; and the fruit of your marriage may be a family. Are you going to marry the right one? How will you know? Call upon God through prayer. Does God want you to marry the specific man or woman you are interested in? The Bible talks about asking and receiving: if you need wisdom, then ask God for wisdom (James 1:5). Isn’t wisdom required to make the decision of who you will marry? Then why not ask God? God will speak! If you seek Him, you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). Ask Him, you may be surprised what He reveals. If you truly hear His Words, they will line up with the Bible.

The LOVE Command of the Song of Solomon

The LOVE Command of the Song of Solomon

    Dear reader, the Song of Solomon says several times “. . . Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases (Song of Solomon 8:4 NKJV).” What does this “arousing” or “awakening” of love mean? Let’s start by looking at the definition of arouse.

Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines arouse as:

To excite into action, that which is at rest ; to stir, or put in motion or exertion, that which is languid ; as, to arouse one from sleep ; to arouse dormant faculties.

   LOVE is often associated with feelings or physical actions, like a kiss or sex in our 21^st century culture, but God’s WORD describes LOVE as something else. Read first Corinthians 13.      

     First Corinthians 13 describes love as patient and kind. In light of these two attributes, do you really love someone? Or are you just lusting after them? Lust is wanting and love is waiting. Let’s be wise, there is no need to “…stir up nor awaken love until it pleases (Song of Solomon 8:4 NKJV).” Those unmarried, let’s wait until God directs us to arouse/awaken “romantic love” in marriage. We will experience God’s blessing on a relationship only when we are obedient, but how can we expect to have God’s blessings without obeying His rules on real love? LET’S WAIT. Adults, what experiences do you have of arousing/awakening “romantic love” before God gave the ok? Your experience is what the younger generation desperately needs to hear! Please share it; because we need to know the pain that comes with ignoring God’s righteous way. Let’s return to the Scriptures, stop lusting and start truly loving.

Personal Question:

V  Are you “arousing” the physical side of a relationship that is supposed to come only in marriage in any way?

Remembering That God Has “Arranged” Marriages

Remembering That God Has “Arranged” Marriages

Read Genesis 24.

        This chapter tells of the incredible story of Isaac and Rebekah being brought together by God. My words do not do this story justice so I won’t try to retell it, but I will say that this story is just amazing! God worked in this passage, He literally arranged their marriage!  Think about this because I believe that God is still in the business of bringing people together in unique ways.

V  Why do you think that so many Christians struggle with willingly letting God “arrange” their marriages in a special way and just giving Him control instead of worrying and fretting, trying to find “the One” and “make it happen” on their own?

Culture’s Twisted View on Marriage

Culture’s Twisted View on Marriage

Prior to reading this thought, please read Matthew 19:1-12.

    Marriage is an institution that was established and is initiated by God. Today, however, the media, the culture, the government, and even some churches treat marriage as an unimportant institution.

     Why does the younger generation of America have crumbling marriages, broken families, devastated hearts, and a rule twisting spirit?  One of the answers lies in the viewpoint that many have toward marriage. On many TV stations, on any given day of the week, programs are featuring two people happily fornicating or a “needed” divorce is taking place.

     The devil understands all too well the folly of allowing children to grow up with a view that says that fornication is ok; so he uses his demons, the World, and the media to do so. The fragmented foundation that the devil sows into people’s lives obscures the proper view that Christ wants to instill in us about sex, male roles, female roles, and marriage relationships. Could this be the reason why sexually transmitted diseases are appearing to rise? And why so many families break up and so many children have to “brave the waters” of everyday life without a mother or a father to lovingly comfort them?

      I will conclude with the following verses, but you don’t have to end this thought. You can still dwell on the topics mentioned and pray.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” ~ Romans 12:1-2 KJV

“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” ~ Matthew 19:4-6 KJV

 

Worry and Confusion

Worry and Confusion

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. . .”

1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV

      

   If this Scripture is true, and it is, then why do we give the impression that we are confused as we walk through life? Well, we often worry before we become confused, right? I mean, we get worried about that upcoming test and before we know it we are confusing our history with our science—the facts just get all jumbled up in a confusing mess.

    The Bible calls worry sin, and why shouldn’t it be? If we are worrying then we are essentially saying, “God, you aren’t good enough for me. I am going to trust in myself and try to process this issue with my own understanding”—we place worry and our understanding up as idols!

    While on this issue a sin principle needs to be mentioned: when we commit a sin and do not repent, that sin ends up multiplying in various other forms and has various other side effects. We can sin by worrying and then become really confused, frustrated and discouraged in consequence. Are you getting this? Without worry there is often not confusion, and thus we are able to rest in the peace of the arms of God. Even though our circumstances scream, “You should worry!” we can have peace instead, like the Apostle Paul who got up and went back to the city of those who thought they had killed him by stoning (based on Acts 14:19-20). Paul had the assurance that God had a job for him to do in that city, so he did not worry and was not confused about what he should do—he was truly led by the Spirit—and, after all, Paul could have chosen to run away confused and angry that God would allow something so extreme as stoning to happen to him; but he did not, wow!

    This worrying factor of confusion has been a big part of my life recently. I have begun to really understand that worry encompasses more than I ever thought it did; yet, in Messiah Jesus, I can find peace. The relationship between worry and confusion is sheerly amazing! Yet, God’s peace comes through choosing not to worry; and instead choosing to cast our worries to the ground at the foot of the cross, at Jesus’ feet.

    Before we go on, which will you choose in your life: will you worry about making the change that the Holy Spirit is gently prompting you to; or will you step forward—in the strength of Christ!—determining not to worry; casting all of your cares on Christ?

     God understands everything! Nothing is unknown or needs to be discovered by Him. His ways always make sense . . . ., that is, if we could see things from the all-inclusive perspective that He does.

      Ok, so I’ve preached, now let’s put confusion and worry into a real-life context: a woman marries the man of her dreams, they have a few kids and everything is great until ten years later. At that point, she discovers that “Mr. Perfect” is having an affair with a younger woman. Now, this woman is a Christian; but should she get a divorce or not? And should she be worried or not? Scripture gives only one ground for divorce in the New Testament: marital unfaithfulness, a.k.a. adultery, but the Scripture also says that God hates divorce, so what should she do? She can get divorced on Biblical grounds, but should she? This is where prayer comes in. Worry and confusion definitely want to gain ground in her life during this situation! But she has to attack them with Scripture and patient prayer in order to be open to God’s will and maintain her peace.

       Let’s take a moment and remember that she only has two basic options: 1) she can either get divorced or 2) she can fight on and hope for a complete restoration to her husband (for more information on this, check out the movie Fireproof and the book The Love Dare).

      We do not know, just by looking at the Scriptures, which option she should take. Only God knows, and she will have to seek Him whole-heartedly to find out. Can you see worry and confusion trying to push their way into a situation like this instead of the peace of God which transcends all our understanding (Phil.4:7)?

       Situations like this woman’s are great places for confusion and worry to fester. But even in our deepest, darkest places there can still be hope and peace. If we will simply seek Him first, everything else falls in place over time (Matt. 6:33). The point of this thought is this, will we wait for the Lord’s direction, or will we only look at Scripture (in our own understanding) and get confused?

          Also, please, understand that I am in no way attempting to belittle the Word of God in saying that its passages do not provide a clear answer. We simply cannot find answers to everything by knowing all the connected passages of Scripture on some issues. Scripture can be very helpful, and I fully and heartily endorse Bible study; but are we so elevating the Bible and what we intellectually interpret it to mean that it has become our ‘god,’ and source of strength; instead of our relationship with the Lord Himself? In other words, have we exchanged our relationship for a mere set of reason’s rules? I dare say that the answer to these two questions will separate the religious from the redeemed. Those are tough questions, but I pray that the Holy Spirit will use them to convey what you need to understand right now. God Bless, and remember not to worry.