Healing During Grief

During our lifetime, we may experience the loss of relationships, cherished pets, important material possessions, health, financial gains, etc. and it is important to allow our soul to mourn each one. This may take time, but it is vitally important and should not be hurried.

Attempting to ignore our pain in grief, multiplies our sorrow. We hide it away in our soul, but it resurfaces at times when we least expect it. Therefore, it is better for us to face our sorrow, fear, loneliness, etc. and to realize that these are normal reactions to loss that we all experience.

God is always in the midst of us during our sorrows. There is no disgrace is our reaction to loss. We all grieve in different ways because of our personality and our ability to cope with negative circumstances. If we experience reoccurring loss in our life, it is especially important to allow our self to grieve those injuries as they occur.

Sadness is often overwhelming at first, but it is part of the process of grieving that brings healing. Expressing our grief to a mentor, counselor, or writing about the events and our feelings in our journal gives us the opportunity to eventually improve our outlook and to recover an even greater measure of peace and joy in our life.

Crying is never a sign of weakness, and we do not have to hold in our tears in order to be strong for others. In fact, we are a better example to them, and we help them to heal from their grief by showing them that there is no humiliation in shedding our tears.

Expressing how we truly feel is helpful both to us and to other people. Unless we allow our sorrow to consume us, tears are temporary and necessary, because they wash away the grief in our soul, and we eventually experience hope and enjoy life once more (Psalm 30:5).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for walking with us through the valleys we experience during times of loss. Help us to allow them to last as long as they need to in order for us to heal. We can have the faith to know that as we trust You with the next chapter of our life, that our grief will diminish and be less intense. Please strengthen our inner being to face our fears and to allow You to reshape our expectations of life.

Remind us that searching Your Word for verses pertaining to faith and comfort will help us to face our fears, and guide and encourage us on our journey toward healing. We rely on Your power and compassion to provide for all of our mental, emotional, physical, financial and spiritual needs both now and throughout our life. We trust in You with our whole heart, and we know without a doubt that You will comfort us in our grief.

Thought for the Day:

Healing Verses to Live By

Psalm 30:5 …“Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” NKJV

Psalm 94:18-19… “Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” NKJV

Psalm 34:19… “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.” NKJV

Joshua 1:5... “No one will be able to oppose you as long as you live, for I will be with you just as I was with Moses; I will not abandon you or fail to help you. “ TLB

Matthew 6:34... "So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.” TLB

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17… “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.” NKJV

Jeremiah 29:11-13… “For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.” TLB

Psalm 62:5-8… “My soul, wait silently for God alone,

For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore, I will remember You.” NKJV

Psalm 9:9-11 …“The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.  And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.” NKJV

Psalm 27:5-6…“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore, I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.” NKJV

1 Peter 5:6-9… “If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up. 7 Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. 8 Be careful - watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. 9 Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are going through these sufferings too.” TLB

Christ's Life Within Us

What we spend the bulk of our time on is what has our attention, and part of our heart. We often fill our "free" time with video games, watching YouTube documentaries and television, surfing the internet for things to buy, chatting with friends, pursuing our hobbies, etc.

We do not see any value in focusing our attention on God's Word, His Kingdom, and the will of our King of kings, Jesus Christ. We give God one hour a week in a corporate worship service, and maybe Sunday School, or a mid-week Bible Study as well.

We rarely read the Bible at home, listen to sermons online, spend time praising God from the depth of our heart, read books with Biblical themes, etc. Yet, these sources are ways that the Holy Spirit can enlighten us, and that we can mature spiritually.

We see no reason to take the time to pursue spiritual opportunities, because we have what we consider, other more interesting activities to fill our time. We do not want to be guilty of becoming "spooky spiritual" or being "so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good."

However, the key to a fulfilled life is to incorporate spiritual pursuits into the earthly demands that fill our time. We do not need to choose one or the other, because we are capable of doing both at the same time. For instance, we listen to Christian music as we cook a meal or do our chores or carpool the children, or we can read our Bible app while we wait in line or for an appointment.

We are able to share with others what God is doing in our life, watch Christian movies with our children one night a week or more, and carve out time each day to spend in prayer with our spouse. Just prior to falling asleep, we nestle into the couch with a cup of hot tea while we spend time with our favorite devotional author.

We are prepared to approach the Lord prior to making any decisions or commencing any project during the day, all the while praying without ceasing as we walk in the Spirit while following the required schedule on our calendar. Consulting God through each of these events saves us time and frustration, as it opens doors for divine appointments.

This spiritual focus allows us to experience the power of Christ in and through our life. He lives the Christian life for us during the activities in which He inspires us to participate (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13). We walk in the Spirit and we stop fulfilling the desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25).

Prayer:

Father God, we want You to manifest Your power during every situation of every one of our days. We rely on You, we trust in You, and we are developing faith in Your faithfulness. Remind us that we are crucified with Christ, and that we no longer live our life, but Christ lives in and through us. We live by the faith of Christ in us, because He loves us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).

Help us to see the reality of the fact that we are temples in which Your Holy Spirit dwells (2 Corinthians 6:16; Romans 8:9-11). The extent to which we surrender to Your will in our life is the degree to which You are able to use us for Your Kingdom and glory. Thank You for filling us with Christ's divine nature, Your Holy Spirit's power and guidance, and Your love and joy and peace through every trial that we ever experience.

Thought for the Day:

As we adopt God's plan for us as our way of life, we will decrease as Christ increases within us; we focus on what He focused on, we live simple and uncluttered lives as He did, and we diminish the carnal life and desires in our heart by cooperating with Him as He makes us into a new creation.

- 1 John 2:6; Ephesians 4:22-24

A Good Marriage - No Pressure to be Perfect

Realizing that Christ is the only perfect being we will ever meet will take the pressure off our self and our current relationships. This reduces anxiety, insecurity, and expectations. It also helps us to relax, to forgive each other's failings, and to enjoy one another's strengths and unique qualities.

We understand that we will disappoint one another, as well as break promises, fail to give support when needed, make mistakes and have irritating habits. We will not always think in sync, and we will disagree about how to respond to many issues that we face.

However, if we love Jesus more than the people in our life, we can maintain a safe distance in our soul that will prevent us from looking to people to serve as our savior and to meet all of our needs. We will trust in the Lord with our whole heart, which will prevent us from unrealistically expecting too much from others.

As a couple, we pray together about our issues and receive Godly wisdom, inspiration and ideas on how to resolve them. We honor one another as God's children, and we assist one another as members of His Body. We cherish, prefer, respect, honor and serve each other as Christ serves His bride.

We encourage each other to rely on God during trials. We cling to one another during disagreements rather than to view each other as the "enemy." When both of our individual choices are unacceptable, we find a third alternative on which we can both agree.

We realize that God gave us to each other to share our strengths which make up for each other's weaknesses, to serve together in ministry in our local church, and to be a Godly example of a loving married couple to other married couples and to dating couples in our sphere of influence.

Prayer:

Father God, allow our choices to always align with Your Word, Your plan for our life, and Christ's divine character (2 Peter 1:4). Help us to recognize that our mate's perfection is Your job and not ours. We are simply to accept one another with all of our faults and foibles, and to pray for each other as God's Spirit sanctifies our soul - our thoughts, emotions and choices.

Help us to turn over control of our life to You, rather than to attempt to force others to comply with our wishes in order to keep us safe. Remind us to pray for each other daily, to encourage one another, and to submit to Your perfect plans for our life. Thank You for giving us one another and for helping us to support each other through the trials of life, rather than to allow these issues to drive us apart.

Thought for the Day:

Living life through vulnerable dependence on God, rather than on people, will ensure that we can be vulnerable with each other too in order to increase our intimacy with God and our mate with each new day.

Vulnerability is Worth the Effort

Pride and fear will prevent us from allowing our self to be vulnerable with another human being and with God. We shelter our soul from rejection and live in dread of someone inflicting physical or emotional pain on us; therefore, we keep people at arm's length and we view everyone as the enemy.

Codependent personalities will reinvent their whole persona. They go with the flow, adapt, and remake their personality - disregarding their real needs in order to go along so that they can get along with important people in their life. They want to be accepted and loved, and are afraid to be vulnerable.

Even if we marry someone who loves Jesus more than they love us, and they love us more than they love their self - and would rather take our pain away than inflict it, we do not trust them. We suspiciously interpret their words and actions as self-seeking and hard-hearted.

We keep our true feelings closed off in our mind, and we refuse to open our heart and connect with our mate or anyone else. We find it easier to open up a bit more to strangers on the internet than to the people with whom we actually live. We are extremely sensitive - with low feelings of self-worth.

However, there is freedom when we let down our guard, and the walls which we erect around our self. We may experience rejection, or even emotional distress by another's candidness and plain speech, but this allows us to improve in our areas of blind spots and to learn to laugh at our self.

No one is perfect, including me and you. We are all human, and this causes us to clash now and again. Relationships are hard in any stage of life. That is why some people choose to live as a hermit or a homebody or a loner, because we can avoid interacting with other people.

I always encourage young people to date many people before they marry, to find out the type of person with whom they are really compatible, to look for someone who loves Jesus more than they love them, and who love them more than they love their own self.

Prayer:

Father God, when we as individuals pursue intimacy with You, we open our heart to be vulnerable and to risk loving others in spite of the possibility of being hurt. We traverse this hateful world together, bracing one another so that we will not fall. We personally experience Your mercy and grace, and we can readily show that same level of compassion, care and nurturing to others.

Help us to listen to Your Spirit, and to follow His discernment and wisdom and guidance throughout our day. Then, we can reach out to those You put in our life and share Your love with them as a healthy person, rather than as a skeptical, fearful or codependent individual. When we put You first in all of our ways, We find that our communication with others is more intimate and Christ-centered and unified (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Thought for the Day:

Tribulation is easier to bear when we share it together, and our expectations of one another diminish, because we realize that as humans we all have our unbecoming hang-ups and habits; we love unconditionally, we have more patience with each other, and we forgive one another more quickly and completely.

Companionable Silences with Our Daddy God

With the constant noise and activity in the world around us, we grow uncomfortable with silence. Many people even say that it is hard to bear God’s silences. I know how they feel. I used to get so discouraged when I took time to sit quietly at Jesus’ feet, and He did not say anything to me.

I felt silly sitting there with no productive activity between us. At times, I even thought that He was hiding His face and turning His ear away from me (Psalm 102:1-7). Doubts plagued me, and I felt alone and helpless (Hebrews 13:5).

When I was confused about what to do about some situation in my life, I felt like God did not care or love me anymore. Sometimes, I just gave up and went to read a book, watch a movie, play a word game, or put on praise music while I cleaned the house. Eventually, I did a searching inventory of my life.

I thought that maybe some possibilities for His silence may be that I was not really listening (1 Kings 19:11-12), or that I harbored in my heart some selfish motives (James 4:3; Psalm 66:18), or maybe I was walking in disobedience (Galatians 6:7) or habitual sin (1 John 3:21-22) or ingratitude (1 John 5:14-15) or a broken relationship with someone (1 Peter 3:1-6) or unforgiveness towards someone.

If we are not guilty of any of these deviations of Godly behavior, however, the silence is simply evidence that God already heard our petitions and His answer is already on the way (Matthew 7:11; Daniel 10:12).

The longer I walk with God, the more I realize that in the silence, God is bringing us into a more intimate relationship with Himself. He finds pleasure in hanging out with His children without any demand for talking. We are at ease with each other and just happy to be together.

God is so comfortable in our presence that He does not feel the need to converse with us all the time. He simply enjoys our companionable silence. We take the time to listen when He does speak to us, to meditate on His Word and to praise Him for what He already told us, did for us, and provided for us.

When we pray in Jesus’ name, we pray according to the divinity of Christ within us, summoning all of His power and authority behind our prayers (Matthew 18:20). Until then, we can enjoy the companionable silence God offers to us each moment of the day, without any expectations or demands upon Him.

Prayer:

Father God, it is in the silent times that we can be still and know Your fullness as our God (Psalm 46:10). To be still is to surrender our will, our desires, our goals and our dreams for our life to Your plans and purposes for us in Your Kingdom (Ephesians 2:10). We stop trusting in our self or anyone else but You. With patience, we will see answers to our prayers in Your perfect timing and way (Hebrews 10:36).

As we do this, we have no greater joy than to recognize, admit and proclaim to the world that You are our God, the great King over all the earth. We remain silent before You now, because the great Day of the Lord is at hand (Zephaniah 1:7).  Since this is true, remind us to be careful to pray according to Your will, and not to pray according to our will.

Thought for the Day:

We mature to a place where we soon crave these silent times of comfort with God; as we center on His acceptance of us, and joy in us, our delight is in His laws, and in His Word we meditate all day and night long.

- Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 1:2

Seeds for a Miracle

I often write about the seeds for a miracle that God places in the midst of each of our trials. This is because I started seeing them over and over again in my daily tribulation. Some of these seeds may not be visible to us right now, but they always eventually become event.

Some of them may never be realized until we leave this earth, but they are there nonetheless. Here are a few examples of some of the seeds for miracles that God planted in the midst of my recent trial of a swollen bursa in my knee, and a hairline fracture of my knee cap:

My husband now realizes how much I do for him every day - since he had to do much of it for himself at this time, and he said that he has come to really, really, really appreciate me.

My husband also faithfully served me all through the day in so many ways that he has never had to do before. I get so much more attention from him that I never needed before now. He has come to anticipate my needs, and our pets' needs, and to work them into the schedule of his busy day.

I was loaned a "Cadillac" of wheelchairs - very comfortable and easy to maneuver; and it fits nicely within the walls of our home - even the hallway. He also gave my husband wisdom to build a ramp for us to use on the back porch. These allowed me to easily participate in my normal life's activities without further wounding my knee as it healed.

We learned to do "hard things" that we took for granted before this incident, and that we never would have come to appreciate their absence in our normal life without this temporary loss of my knee's functionability.

I actively look for seeds for a miracle in my trials. This enables me to maintain faith in God's faithfulness regardless of how trying my circumstances may be. What happens in our natural life has repercussions in both the natural and the spiritual realms (1 Corinthians 15:46).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for teaching me this positive outlook on trials. I rarely get discouraged in tribulation anymore, because my focus is not on the negative issues, but on finding Your positive blessings in each one of them. You do not allow us to experience trials due to vindictiveness or punishment, but to reveal to us Your glory even in the negative aspects of life. You use hardship to sanctify us, to perfect us, and prove to us Your faithfulness in all things.

Help us to rejoice evermore, to pray without ceasing, and to count even the most horrific trials as blessings in disguise (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Remind us not to demand or to beg You to answer our prayers; but, by faith, to thank You for Your answers, even when we see no way for them to happen (Philippians 4:6-8). Remind us to praise You in the bad times, as well as in the good times, because You turn all things around for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

An unconverted person cannot see and accept the things that come to us from God's Holy Spirit, because they are foolishness to them, and they cannot understand these matters since they are spiritually discerned.

- 1 Corinthians 2:14

A Deeper Unity with Christ in Us

Satan and his demons are in mortal combat with God. They fight in opposition to everything God is, and that for which He stands. The devil even attempts to enlist our help in discouraging people from leaving his kingdom of darkness and devastation in order to enter God's Kingdom of eternal light.

Once we come to Christ in repentance, asking for forgiveness, He exchanges our sin for His righteousness. We enter a union with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). The triune life of the Trinity permeates our spirit and soul, and heals many issues in our body.

We unite our life with the Spirit, and He carries out God's plans in and through us. We do not make a half-hearted contract with God, but we enter into an intimate relationship with Him, which includes a union with His presence in us (Galatians 2:20).

God's Spirit purges us in increments, going deeper with each penetration of His holy purifying fire, until we radiate Christ’s nature from within us (2 Corinthians 3:18). He replaces our carnal nature with the fruit of His Spirit, which is actually the very nature of God (Galatians 5:22-23).

The less we function out of our humanity, and the more we wait on God, the more He expresses His character in us and through us. As we embrace His divine nature, we are filled to overflowing with His character, and His very life flows out of us (Ephesians 3:16-19 Amplified Bible).

We cling to God's presence within us, and our thoughts, choices and emotions are His rather than our carnal ones. Our unity with Christ invades every cell in our body and we live as the temple of His Holy Spirit.

We are constantly aware of this holy relationship and our ever-increasing intimacy with Christ. There is less and less of an inner contest between our flesh and God's Spirit. Our human way of thinking and feeling passes away, and we are now an entirely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

We freely choose the leading of God’s Spirit in each moment of the day (Romans 8:14). We walk in unity, fellowship and accord with Christ within us (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). We belong to God’s household now as His co-heirs, priests and saints.

Prayer:

Father God, our union with You is based on our faith in Your faithfulness. When our trust fuses with Jesus' faith, Your Son who loves us and gave Himself for us, we have perfect unity with the Trinity (Ephesians 5:2; Galatians 1:4). By faith, Your divinity freely flows through our body, soul and spirit (2 Peter 1:4).

Unbelief separates human beings from You for eternity (John 3:18). As authentic Believers, our intimate bond with You is broken only by our propensity to sin. However, if we walk in accord with the direction, wisdom and love of Your Spirit, we learn not to fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). We eventually walk by Your Spirit as a matter of course for every moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:

God did not create us and leave us stranded on this temporal globe in our solar system; He loves us foremost and we are the apple of His eye; the degree to which we enjoy an intimate relationship with Him corresponds with the depth of our love for Him and our obedience to Christ within us.

- Psalm 17:8; John 14:15

Growing in Grace

Shame, fear and insecurities fuel our feelings of imperfection and not being able to measure up to expectations from our self and others. We pull our self up by our bootstraps, and force our self to try harder after each incident where we feel that we failed.

Critics in our past often fostered a need in us for perfection and codependence in our lifestyle. We continue to drive our self into an early grave by the illnesses we develop in our attempt to gain the good opinion of the significant people in our life.

This actually allows demonic oppression to survive in the deepest part of our soul. We loathe our self and find it hard to even look into our eyes in the mirror. The inner psychic damage done by these negative encounters wound our spirit, soul and body.

Our "Inner Parent" will often assume a critical role that mirrors some adult from our past. These negative assertions repeat in our subconscious mind and surface into our conscious mind at crucial junctures in our life. Even words spoken in gest will haunt us into adulthood.

Neglect, abuse and abandonment are also negative aspects that hound us each day of our life, especially if they are perpetuated by someone in our current life. Positive feedback from our significant family and friends will go a long way in helping us to combat the negative "tapes" that replay in our mind.

God has plans to heal us in our body, soul and spirit as we submit to His Spirit's guidance and comfort each moment of our day. He uses constant exposure to criticism, abuse, neglect, disappointment and unmet expectations to weaken our human resolve to keep trying, until we finally give up.

That is the best place to which we can arrive in our lifetime. We stop attempting to pick up our self over and over; and instead, we allow our self to fall into His waiting arms. We totally surrender to God's will for our life, and trust Him to care for us in each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, our discouragement with our life allows us to reach up and place our hand squarely in Your hand. You traverse the rocky seas of life both in us and right beside us, just waiting for us to fully submit our self to Your safe-keeping. You replace the negative mental patterns that we adopted (Romans 12:2), and give us the authority of Your Word on which to base our thoughts and opinion of our self.

Teach us that we can "parent" our self with nurturing acceptance of our strengths and our weaknesses (Matthew 18:3; Psalm 131:2), as we look to Your Word for Your opinion of us, as well as Your truth about who we really are in Christ. With Christ abiding within us (Galatians 2:20), we have faith for today and hope for tomorrow. We see our self as You see us, while Your Holy Spirit replaces our negative characteristics with the divine nature of Christ in us (2 Peter 1:4).

Thought for the Day:

Learning to laugh at our blunders and not to take our self so seriously will aid us in healing from the effects of reactions our words and actions elicit from our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors; we are human, and failings are a part of our human existence; however, God's strengths are made evident through our weaknesses.

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Who is the Holy Spirit?

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit make up the Godhead: three distinct personalities and functions that make up one God. Think of your dad…he is his father’s son, your father, and your children’s grandfather. These are three distinct roles for him to play, but he is still just one person.

Jesus said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." He also said, "I and the Father are one." Finally, He pronounced, "I have to go, so that the counselor (Holy Spirit) may come (John 16:17)."

The Holy Spirit's dynamite power raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11). We also can depend on God's Spirit to liberate, lead, and strengthen us. He is our helper in our times of need (Philippians 3:3; Romans 8:2-4, 14, 26; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:4; Acts1:8).

God's Spirit bears witness of Jesus (John 15:26), and He speaks to us concerning God's will for us (Acts 13:2; 1 Corinthians 12:11). He provides our access to God at all times (Ephesians 2:18). We can grieve Him by our pride and rebellion that push us toward sin against God (Ephesians 4:30).

This person of the Godhead inspires us to pray (Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20), convicts us of our sins, (John 16:9, 14), cleanses us (1 Thessalonians 3:13; 1 Peter 1:2), and slowly replaces in us the negative attributes of our personality with His spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:15-25).

The Holy Spirit teaches us all things that Jesus said during His life on this earth (John 14:26). He abides within us (Romans 8:9-14; Galatians 4:6), advising and guiding us (John 16:13), teaching us (John 14:26), and comforting us each moment of our life (Romans 8:15).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation. He empowers us, sanctifies us, gives us Your gifts, and glorifies Christ in all things (John 15:26, 16:14; Romans 15:16; Titus 3:5; Luke 24:49; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:8-11). We are so grateful that He replaces our carnal characteristics of envy, strife, hatred, bitterness, self-centeredness, pride, criticism, worry, depression, quitting, complaining, backbiting, and putting work and sinful pleasures ahead of You and Your truth (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Thank You that due to His sanctifying work, we have His fruit:

Love – affection for others,

Joy – exuberance about life

Peace – serenity

Patience – willingness to stick with it

Gentleness – compassion from the heart

Goodness – kindness that pervades our entire being

Meekness – humility and service

Self-Control – guided by the Spirit

Faith – trust that You know what You are doing and are in control of all things.

       

Thought for the Day:

The Good News is that God's Spirit sanctifies us moment-by-moment as we allow Him to replace: hatred with love, depression with true joy, discontentment with peace,  irritation with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, pride with meekness, excess with self-control, and worry with the faith of God as we are controlled and guided by His Spirit.

A Good Marriage - Affirmation

Our words both tear down or build up. Affirmation is so important to a human being, because demeaning and verbally attacking each other causes us to doubt our worth, to withdraw, to become bitter, and to stop meeting one another's needs.

Hearing negative words from our mate tears us down, belittles us, and makes us feel "less than." Condescension also affects our spiritual life, faith, and vocation, as well as our emotional health. This disapproving behavior drives a wedge between us.

Conversely, affirmation given in every possible circumstance, both in public and in private, will help to build up one another personally and as a couple. We encourage and sustain each other throughout the day with texts, emails, phone calls and little notes tucked away in obvious places.

This increases our mate's feelings of intimacy as well as decreases his/her vulnerability and sensitivity. We listen attentively and take an active interest in what interests one another. This lets us know that we are valued, cherished and desirable.

We can agree to disagree rather than to argue; we look for ways to compromise, rather than to insist on our own way; we tell each other what we like about one another instead of pointing out faults or what irritates us; and we help each other when we get behind on our chores rather than to complain.

Encouragement and affirmation strengthen us to face the belittlement we receive from the world around us. We pray with and for one another daily. We serve God together as a couple and with our family; as well as individually in our daily life, vocation and church ministries.

Frequently communicating with each other the positive feelings that we have for one another endears us to our mate. We value, admire, and are proud of each other's Godly character. Our compliments cause one another's smile to beam like the sun, and we face life with joy in our hearts.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to change our focus rather than to dwell on the negative aspects of our mate's faults, attitude, habits, hobbies and idiosyncrasies. Help us to see things from their perspective, so we can understand their reactions to us and to life in general. Exhort us to see each other as a friend, not as a foe; and to treat each other as we expect to be treated.

Help us to pour out praise, compliments and appreciation to each other rather than criticism, sarcasm and finding faults. Teach us to cherish our relationship and one another, to love each other unconditionally as You love us, and to work together in a ministry that impacts our world for Your Kingdom. We live to bring You praise and glory with our life.

Though for the Day:

Pointing out the good that we see in our mate is a beneficial habit we can all cultivate - praise more and criticize less; and we find ways to compliment integrity, hard work, faithfulness, loyalty, selflessness, humility, diligence, and a job well done, so that we flourish in the light of positive affirmation.

Sin Lost its Power

We live a victorious life through Christ in us, both now and for all eternity. Sin has no more power over us (James 1:25). We draw from the strength of Christ's divinity within us for healing, wisdom, power, righteousness and direction.

As authentic Christians, we abide in Christ by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Our transformation rests firmly on the rock of the gospel of Christ through His Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2; Psalm 18:2). We no longer strive to earn God’s love or to live a holy life, because we entered His rest (Hebrews 4:10-11).

We live on earth to glorify our Father, not by our own human efforts, but only by the power of Christ within us (Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13). We abide by His faith in love, filled with the fruit of His Spirit, and following the leading of God’s Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Galatians 5:1; 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:18).

We simply walk in obedience to God's Holy Spirit. Jesus loves us so much, that for our benefit He gave Himself up to the horrific death on Calvary’s cross, and the loss of the presence our Father God for the last nine hours of His life on this earth (Matthew 27:46). 

We have been crucified with Christ. Therefore, it is no longer we who live our life, but Christ, the Messiah, who lives in and through us. The life that we now live in our body on this earth, we live by faith in, devotion to, dependence on, and complete confidence in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20, Amplified Bible).

Jesus is our only hope of experiencing God’s glory (Colossians 1:27). Through His sacrifice, we are now acceptable to God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 15:7). We could never be good enough in our human effort to earn a place in Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10). Our old sinful nature is crucified with Christ, and sin has no more power over our choices. 

Prayer:

Father God, we completely surrender our plans, goals and will to Your purpose for our life (Ephesians 2:10). Through Your anointing in us, we live in perfect union with Christ. Jesus gave up His glory in Heaven, to take the form of a man, to humble Himself, and to willingly die in our place (Philippians 2:8). You call us to follow His example, and to die to our humanity as well - exchanging our sinful desires for His righteousness.

Therefore, because of Your mercy and grace, we will no longer succumb to the negative suggestions of the world, our carnal nature, or the devil. We live a life that is free from the destructive consequences of sin (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16). By the power of Your Spirit within us, we can put on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). We renew our mind by reading Your Word and by walking in continual obedience to Your Holy Spirit each moment of the day (Ephesians 5:26; John 14:15).

Thought for the Day:

We should not keep on sinning to prove the power and benevolence of God's grace; we joined Jesus in His death through our baptism, and we died, were buried, and were raised to walk in His new life within us - free from the lure and the penalty of sin forever.

- Romans 6:1-14

We Can Stay in Our Comfort Zone

We can do anything that God asks us to do, because He strengthens us with His power and anointing. We are vulnerable enough to admit our fears, to ask for prayer, and to cooperate with others whom God is calling to serve in the same purpose that He is calling us.

We may never look forward to change, especially as we get older; but when we walk in God's perfect plan for us through the power of His Holy Spirit, adjustments no longer intimidate us. We obey God, even if initially, we do have anxiety or reservations.

A current catch phrase is to "get out of our comfort zone." People use this phrase to intimidate us into functioning in their ministry in which we have no peace from God to serve. We do not need to get out of our comfort zone, however.

If we are willing to cooperate with God's will for our life, He enlarges our comfort zone. There are no surprises, just divine appointments; no roadblocks, just slight detours; and no insecurities, just new experiences.

This way, rather than attempting to get over our fears, we just do His will in His power, even with all of our human inhibitions firmly intact. Over the years, we realize that what used to paralyze us with fear, no longer bothers us.

We learn to trust God through every circumstance, and this new hurdle is not any different than any other race in which He calls us to run. We roll with the punches, cross every bridge, and weather every storm with faith, due to our intimacy with the presence of God in our spirit and soul.

We take His yoke on our shoulders, partnering with Him to carry the heaviest of loads, because His burdens are actually easy and light (Matthew 11:30). We hang out with the Vine as His branches who are created to help Him to bear His fruit through our submission to His will.

We help those in need that He calls us to serve. The darkness all around us will actually be as bright as the noon day sun, because His light in us shines through us (Isaiah 58:10). We sing the new song that He puts in our heart (Psalm 40:3; Isaiah 42:10).

We find our self praising His name each moment of our day. We walk in His Spirit, and we do not fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25, 6:15-23). Our momentary, light affliction produces for us an eternal glory that is far above comparison with what this world has to offer (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Prayer:

Father God, we want to make a difference in our world, to bloom where You plant us, and to ease the burdens in lives all around us. Use us as Your emissaries in this wicked and perverse world, and lead us to those in whom we can actually make a difference. We want to see others come to Jesus as we have, so that they too can experience the depth of Your love and the comfort of Your presence within us.

You are our peace, our joy, our comfort, our eternal Father, our provider, our supply, our guide and our sustainer through every trial we ever experience. You teach us not to fight our circumstances, but to lean into them, and to allow the patience involved in weathering each trial to have its perfecting work in our soul and spirit (Matthew 11:30). You are our Father, and You always know best.

Thought for the Day:

Weeping may endure for a night, but God's joy always comes in the morning; His anger may burn for a moment, but His favor lasts for eternity; therefore, we can trust Him with our life and consult Him for His will for us each moment of every day.

- Psalm 30:5

We Shall Go Out with Joy

Each morning, in our moments with the Lord, we enter His rest and submit our daily schedule to Him. We leave our prayer closet with His joy, as He leads us forward with His peace. Even the mountains and the hills break into singing, and the trees of the field actually clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12).

When I initially read that verse, I relegated it to a millennial experience that I could look forward to enjoying. However, in our first year here at Valier First Baptist, we joined our new church family on their annual time of fellowship at a local campground.

They call this activity-packed week-end, "Kamp Koinonia", or "Kamp K" for short, because the purpose is to camp out, eat together, and fellowship with our Body of Believers. This loving church family uses every opportunity to come together in worship, fellowship, and outreach into our community.  

On the way to the bathroom facility across the street from our community hall at the campground, I paused for a moment of rest and solitude to enjoy the beauty of this unseasonably cold, spring day. Rooted to the ground, I stood in the moment, feeling the cooling breeze on my face.

Experiencing the warming rays of the polka-dots of sunlight filtering through the trees, I listened to bird songs lilting through the leaves that fluttered in the breeze. Suddenly, a strong thud sounded in the not so distant woods.

At first, I thought it was the human sound of an ax, and I almost dismissed it, until God's Spirit redirected my attention. Then, the rhythmic clunk really peaked my interest. There was a hidden blessing in this resonance to which He was directed my awareness.

I focused on the sound and wondered at its origins. I asked the Lord what might be causing it, and He showed me two tree limbs embracing in the wind. They were clapping together with pure delight, worshipping our Creator.

Tears of wonder streamed down my face, as I started singing a praise song in my mind that fit the drumming staccato of the branches. I was one with nature, in that moment of time, as we gave full devotion and adoration to our Father God.

I reveled in those moments, continuing to praise the Lord with the two limbs, until the wind shifted and the branches swayed, rather than clapped their hands. I wondered how often this phenomenon occurred in nature, but our busyness prevented us from hearing it.

I vowed to sit in nature more often, especially since even my neighborhood is full of the beauty of God's creation. My husband and I added nature watches to our dating routine, and frequently visit the Rend Lake's recreational area to enjoy God's presence together in His beautiful creation of nature.

Prayer:

Father God, how often we take Your blessings for granted, overlooking the wonders that You prepare for us to experience. Teach us to be more mindful in our moments of time, so that we can receive all that You have arranged for us to enjoy. We thank You that You did not allow our birth on this earth to happen by chance, but that You have a perfect plan for each of us (Ephesians 2:10).

We want to fully experience Your presence in us and surrounding us - both now as well as in eternity. We look forward to our marriage with our Bridegroom - Your Perfect Lamb without spot or wrinkle. We look forward to experience Your beauty throughout eternity.

Thank You for purifying our thoughts, emotions, words and deeds until You can see the reflection of Your face in us (Malachi 3:2). We vow to work out our own salvation, as You give us both the desire and the power to do so (Philippians 2:12-13).

Thought for the Day:

Even if the mountains are removed by volcanoes, and the hills are shaken with earthquakes, God's loving devotion will never, ever depart from us, and His covenant of peace will not be broken, because He has great compassion on us and all of His creation.

- Isaiah 54:10

Cleansed from Within

Sometimes, we have our own vision of what life is supposed to look like. We come up against a wasteland of discouragement; so we give up, and hang up our harp of praise on the nearest willow tree (Psalm 137:2). We wander around in the wilderness of life without a compass.

We all experience weary times and trying circumstances in this earthly life, but we do not need to wallow in the mud, or to allow them to overcome us completely. We simply march on with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and fulfiller of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

The disciples had the rug pulled out from under them, when they trusted in Jesus as their Messiah. Their dreams vanished as they watched Him being tortured and hung on Calvary's cross. They did not understand what happened, until three days later when Jesus rose from the dead and walked with them for 40 days and nights (John 20:1; Acts 1:3). 

Spiritual disciplines like scripture memorization, Bible studies, personal and corporate worship, and praying without ceasing will help us to eliminate much of the inherent fear in our modern, daily life. These exercises provide us with personal renewal and the rejuvenation of our spirit and soul - our thoughts, feelings and choices.

Then we encounter Jesus in our trials, and trust Him with the outcome, without any pressure on our self to solve them (Proverbs 3:5-6). Jesus meets us where we are in our walk of faith, and He infuses our issues with His grace-filled care and resolution. 

Prayer:

Father God, when we find our self in a painful trauma in life, we have a hard time resisting weariness, discouragement, gloom, depression, anger and insecurity. Remind us to keep our eyes on You, so that we can see rewards, renewal and redemption rise from the soil of our trials. Heal us from our past issues that are deeply buried in our subconscious mind.

Examine the thoughts and intents of our heart (Hebrews 4:12), and renew a spiritual perspective in our soul (Psalm 139:23). Help us to rise above Satan's lies, worldly philosophies and goals, and the corrupt desires of our own heart.  Infuse our spirit with Your Holy Spirit to allow us to move from the wilderness of insanity and despair to the glorious riches that You daily provide for us in Your Kingdom.

Thought for the Day:

God always cares for His people; for instance, He parted the Red Sea for them, and they crossed over on dry land; yet, when Pharaoh led his army to follow suit, God removed His anointing on the walls of water that bordered that holy ground, and archeologists are still finding evidence of them drowning in that same space.

Controlled and Guided by the Holy Spirit

The Gospels of the New Testament in the Bible all give us a play-by-play account of who Jesus was while He lived on the earth. The Epistles, written by Jesus' disciples, denote the power which Jesus now exercises from within His Body of authentic Believers (Galatians 2:20).

We walk this earthly realm in this mortal body, but through the dealings of God's Spirit within us, we crucify the flesh and the lusts thereof (2 Corinthians 10:3; Galatians 5:24). We no longer live in the flesh (Romans 8:5).

As we walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:9), the life of Christ is manifested through our physical existence (2 Corinthians 4:10-11). We live in the world, but we are not part of it (John 17:16), because the Holy Spirit transforms us.

Christ performs His work through us, which God prepared for us before the world ever began (Psalm 139; Ephesians 2:10). Jesus moves into our spirit and we walk with His direction for each moment of the day (Galatians 5:16, 25).

We are controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit, who fills us (Ephesians 5:18). This is accomplished by the particular fruit and gifts of the Spirit, which He provides for each one of us individually (Ephesians 4:8-16; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 27-31).

We submit our negative thoughts to the Lordship of Jesus Christ for healing. We even lay down our positive, finite, humanistic thoughts, and adopt His thoughts as our own instead (Philippians 2:5). We live as an act of worship to our King of kings.

The Holy Spirit gives us the abiding love and peace of God resident within us (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 2:14). Desiring to live Godly lives, we have everything we need to achieve this through Christ Jesus within our spirit (2 Timothy 3:13; 2 Peter 1:3). We enjoy an intimate union with our Father God.

Prayer:

Father God, as we surrender our will to Your will, we soon realize that You fill us completely. Rather than to spend our time, energy and resources on frivolous amusements and earthly treasures, we follow Your lead to give the fruit of our labors to our local church and to missionaries doing Your work. The earthly realm is here today, but gone tomorrow; yet Your work lasts into eternity (1 Corinthians 1:9, 6:17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:3-14, 4:32, 5:22-33; Galatians 5:22-23; Acts 15:28).

We want to do only Your will with our life. Following the leading of Your Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day results in physical productivity, a healthy mental and emotional life, spiritual advantages and material blessings, which we cannot even begin to imagine until we walk in Your ways! Thank You for calling us to Yourself.

Thought for the Day:

When Christ is foremost in our thoughts, and we pray about His order for our day, even cleaning the house, tending the children, working in the secular world, ministering at our local church, preparing meals, and spending time with our family is all the result of a Spirit-filled life.

Our Identity in Christ

Before Christ, our natural man had no comprehension of the meaning of spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14). Believers were foreign to us, and we made fun of them. Before we surrendered our life to Jesus Christ, our human nature controlled us. We were slaves to sin and death.

When we came to Christ, He gave us victory over Satan and destruction (Romans 6:2-6). Now God’s love always surrounds us, fills us and lifts us. Our former self died in Christ and we are now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Although we still live on this earth, it has no more power over us.

We are justified, as if we had never sinned, and God’s Spirit is sanctifying us from one stage of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). We live by the faith of Christ, who loves us and gave Himself over to a cruel death for our sake (Galatians 2:20).

This free gift is not the result of our goodness or any works, which we perform (Ephesians 2:8-9). It comes from Jesus, through whom we are crucified to the world and the world to us (Galatians 6:14). The nature to sin is replaced by the divine nature of Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Peter 1:4). We live in the Spirit now, rather than in the flesh (Romans 8:8-9).

The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus set us free from the Law of Sin and Death (Romans 8:2). We no longer blindly follow the dictates of our flesh, the world and the devil, but we purposely follow the guidance of God's Holy Spirit.

Our carnal nature is crucified with Christ, and although we still live in this world, Christ actually lives His life in and through us. We live by the power of the faith of the Son of God who loves us and freely gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, knowing that Christ crucified our flesh on Calvary’s cross helps us to choose to live in holiness rather than in disobedience to You. Once we are Born Again, we only sin when we fail to acknowledge You and seek Your plans for our day (Proverbs 3:5-6). We currently rest in Your love, and stand firm in Your power, devoting our self to Your Kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Thank You for directing our feet on the paths of life and for protecting, guarding, leading and loving us with Your amazing grace and love. The world and the lusts of it have no power over, or attraction for us anymore. As a new creation, our life is transformed from sin and deprivation to righteousness, peace and joy through Your Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 14:17).

Thought for the Day:

When we choose to sin, we act out of character with our new nature and our new identity in Christ; God’s Spirit provides us with God’s divine power to live a Godly life, and He accomplishes God’s victorious life through us (2 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:10).

A Good Marriage - Meaningful Ways to Connect

Busyness comes from overly committing to too many activities and events at one time. We find it hard to say, "No" to worthy causes, ministries and requests for help. We see a need and automatically volunteer to meet that need. A worthy attitude, but unwise at best.

When our spouse has the same disposition, we end up as two ships passing in the night. The solution is obvious: pray together, find out what God wants to accomplish through us, our marriage and our family, and join Him. Communicating daily is important in making this happen.

Sometimes, I have to resort to emails in order to connect with my husband. He is so busy with so many endeavors that I forget what I wanted to chat about when we do get a few moments together and alone. Often, we are too busy to even enjoy a meal together.

When we plan our schedules with shared prayer, we can more intimately pray for one another during our times apart; and show interest in each other's endeavors by sending a quick inquiring text, email or phone call; also by tucking a love note in a shirt pocket, purse or briefcase; or by making a point of chatting in person or on the phone during lunchtime each day.

This reminds each of us that we value one another and care about what is important to both of us. Connecting through touch, conversation, shared glances from across the room, playing a family game, planning couple time, and family outings are all vitally important.

When we are both home, we can snuggle on the couch, grab a quick kiss as we pass in the kitchen, do a chore together, work on our laptops side-by-side in the loveseat, hold hands in the retail store or push the cart together, liberally use the words, "I love you only," etc. Looking for meaningful ways to connect each day keeps our love alive.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us not to allow the good things in life to become the enemies of the best things. Give us Your direction, and help us to walk in Your Spirit, rather than doing our own thing. Remind us to flirt with each other after marriage, so we can withstand any temptation that comes from the devil's decoy pursuing one or both of us.

We want to live intentionally, rather than haphazardly, making the most of every minute and situation we can to increase our intimacy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Give us Your ideas on how to achieve this goal. Remind us that sharing time alone together is vitally important to our unity in marriage. Let us exalt You above all else in our life, and to live as a praise to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

Making the decision to initiate the attitude of unconditional love in our marriage will result in multiple blessings which have reoccurring benefits to both of us throughout our life together; even when we disagree, finding a third alternative that we can both agree on will keep the peace and help our love to grow, rather than to diminish into a downward spiral of negative words and emotions.