A Good Marriage - Our Expectations

Satan will make sure that our family and friends speak disparaging remarks about our mate. They will listen to our complaints and agree with us, embellishing our remarks with inflated thoughts of their own.

We have unmet needs that we expect our mate to fulfill for us. They may have no clue about our needs; or they may know what we want, but feel overwhelmed by our expectations.

At times, we are too honest in expressing our opinions, beliefs or disappointments. We may assume that we know why our mate said or did something, but we end up misunderstanding the clues and jumping to the wrong conclusions.

We can learn to be honestly grateful for every gift, act of service, amount of quality time, physical touch, or word of affirmation and encouragement our mate takes the time to share with us.

We can show appreciation for the simplest chore, like taking out the garbage or washing dishes and clothes every day, to the most difficult task, such as building furniture or painting the house.

Rather than harboring expectations, we can practice relieving one another's burdens. Bringing supper home from the deli, taking the perma-press to the dry cleaners, hiring a neighborhood teen to mow the lawn, washing each other's car and filling the tank when the gas is low, etc. speak volumes to our mate about the fact that we notice all they do to make our life better.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that You exhort us that it is better not to make a vow at all, than to make a vow and break it (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). Remind us that the commitment that we make in our marriage vows are not idle words, but promises that we should be willing to live up to and achieve.

You initiated marriage so that we can model Christ's union with Jesus' Bride - the church. Teach us to serve, submit to and prefer one another before our own self. With Christ in us, we can step aside and allow Him to unconditionally love our mate through us.

Thought for the Day:

"Happily Ever After" does not happen automatically after the marriage vows; this state of fulfillment takes work, premeditated service, altering our selfishness, and a commitment to make one another glad they married us.

Standing Firm in Our Faith

 

Negative emotions are given to us by God. They are red flags to show us that our soul is troubled by some person, place or circumstance in our life.  God knows the source and origin of each one of these emotions.

These red flags are often linked to negative emotions that we felt in the past, which have festered over the years in our subconscious mind. They continue to cause us pain, discomfort and spiritual unrest.

Due to Satan's lies that we unwittingly believe as truth, we fall victim to negative emotions from time to time. We give in to depression and anxiety, and we often feel overwhelmed, misunderstood, and falsely accused.

Our soul is cluttered, scattered, and divided between too many people, places, things and events.  Stress and anxiety result from this busyness, and we realize that we are on the brink of mental, physical and emotional burnout.

God's Word cautions us to guard against this weariness by standing firm in our faith, having courage by the Spirit, and gaining our strength solely from the Lord (1 Corinthians 16:13).

We eventually realize that no amount of worldly accomplishments brings us fulfillment. If we are not filled with God's love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2), until we choose to walk in faithfulness to King Jesus, and to focus our heart and mind on His Word (Psalm 119:30).

The work of God is simply to believe in Jesus whom He sent (John 6:29). Believing God's Word and walking in His Spirit allows us to slow down and to stop moving so fast. We receive whatever we need to walk in God's will for our life (Matthew 21:22).

As we slow down our life, simplify our possessions and activities, and spend each moment in prayer for guidance from God's Spirit, we experience fewer negative emotions, and we are set free from past pain that haunted us, so that we can stand firm in our faith.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to walk in Your ways and not to rely on our human understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). We want to live as an example to others in our words, actions, love, trust and holiness (1 Timothy 4:12). Thank You for enabling us to follow the path of our negative emotions until we discover the origin of them and resolve the issue.

We want to focus on Jesus, who gave us His faith and who will perfect it in us. We follow His example of keeping our focus on the joy awaiting us in eternity as we sit down at Your right hand (Hebrews 12:2). Thank You for making us a part of Your Body, for maturing our faith, and for increasing our love for one another (2 Thessalonians 1:3).

Thought for the Day:

If we believe in Jesus, as the Bible describes Him for us, His rivers of living water will flow through us and from us to the world all around us. - John 7:38

Passing Our Faith on to the Next Generation

I am so glad that Paul mentioned the role that Timothy's mother and grandmother played in Timothy's spiritual walk (2 Timothy 1:5; Acts 16:1). Their example as Godly women made a huge impact in his life.

We may get discouraged, because some of our children or grandchildren ignore, and at times, disdain our Christian witness. This does not mean that we are necessarily at fault - although if we are condemning or hypocritical in some area, we may be the culprit.

It means that they looked at our life, and chose instead, with their free will that God gives to all of us, to reject the Light and Living Water in us, and to listen to the lies of the devil and the deceitfulness of the world (Romans 1:32, 12:2; John 3:19).

We can still love and accept them as a person, even if we cannot approve of or affirm their lifestyle and choices. Our paramount need and responsibility is to stay on our knees, asking God to help them to see Jesus as their Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6).

When we consider the purposes of God, and the resources of His glorious spiritual riches, we pray that God will strengthen their inner being and shower them with His abounding love. This will enable them to repent of their sins and actually allow Christ to abide in their heart by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9, 3:16).

Our children, nieces and nephews, neighborhood children, and children in our church family are all our mission field. We are called by God to impart to them our love for Jesus, as well as our devotion to His Kingdom above any duty we feel toward this world.

We start by loving them as Christ loves us. We live honestly before them - admitting when we make mistakes, and apologizing to them when we are wrong. God give us the humility and grace to do this honestly and sincerely.

Prayer:

Father God, we want Your Holy Spirit to continually transform us into the likeness of Jesus every single day. We do not want to grow cold toward You or Your Kingdom, but to live as passionate followers of Christ during every moment of our life (Revelations 3:15-16). Thank You for loving us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).

Place us in our community as a light on the hill (Matthew 5:14). We want others to be drawn to You through Your Light and Living Water flowing out of us (John 4:4-26). We totally surrender our goals, desires, and will to Your Spirit; and we want nothing more in this life than to be Your servant (1 Corinthians 7:22) and a vessel for Your glory (Romans 9:23).

Thought for the Day:

As we invite God to be glorified in us, we can be an example of a Christ-centered life through our word and deeds in our home, vocation, church family and community.

Is God Really Love?

 

Wounded people, in an imperfect world, allow the negative consequences of horrific crimes, which crush their innocence, to shroud them with anger and depression, and at times, to take their life.

Wondering how a loving God can allow such atrocities and insults to happen to good people (1 John 4;8; Job 1:6-12), we rail against Him, doubt His power, and accuse Him of impotence and vengefulness.

We take these occurrences to mean that God is not on our side, and that He does not care (1 Peter 5:7); when all along, He is just as grieved as we are over the consequences of a sin-cursed world (Jeremiah 8:21-22).

From the beginning, God's plan is for us to live with Him in Paradise. Adam and Eve believed Satan's lies and chose to do things their own way. They lost Paradise for us for a time.

All of humanity now reaps the consequences of the first couple's choices (Romans 5:12). Yet, God provided a way of salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus will restore Paradise to authentic Believers for all of eternity (Revelation 21 & 22).

All He asks is for any willing person to humble his/herself and to believe in Jesus' atoning work of Calvary's cross on our behalf (Romans 6:23). He paid our sin-debt for us, and He cares about every aspect of our life (Galatians 3:13-15).

As we trust in God's goodness, this changes our perspective on our circumstances. We notice that He always plants a seed for a miracle in every trial that we experience. We have no doubt that He will bless us in spite of the events in this world (Job 42:11).

We mature spiritually as we maintain our faith in God's faithfulness, as well as His love for us. As we continually worship in His presence in our spirit, our love relationship and unity with Him multiplies (Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for forgiving our doubt and helping us to believe in Your process for our life (Mark 9:24). Circumstances may not be what we hope for or want, but You work them out so that they are even better than we could have imagined or produced in our human efforts. Thank You for sustaining us through these trying times by Your goodness and grace.

We long to learn to rejoice in our tribulation (Job 1:21), and to trust in Your ways and purposes, which are so much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Remind us to cast all of our cares on You, because You certainly care about every aspect of our life (1 Peter 5:7-9). You are our all sufficiency and our provider through every trial (2 Corinthians 3:5, 12:9). We love You and thank You for Your everlasting love for us (Romans 8:35-39).

Thought for the Day:

Filled with God's Spirit, Christ in us brings good news to the poor, binds up the brokenhearted, proclaims liberty to the captives and opens doors for those of us who are in bondage and wounded from events in our past and/or our current life.

- Isaiah 61:1; Psalm 30:2; Jeremiah 30:17; 1 Peter 5:10

In Need of Nothing

We all have mountaintop experiences with the Lord, where He reveals to us a personal truth from His divine Truth. This usually occurs during a valley experience of trials, difficulties or disappointments. 

When our life is on an even keel, with smooth sailing and just enough wind to fill our sail, we tend to forget God's presence in our life. Coasting on God's blessings, we sit back spiritually and enjoy the ride, working from our human effort.

It is during the uncontrollable tempests that we get nervous, fearful, and, at times, even hopeless. God uses these unplanned issues as opportunities to prove His love for us.

Nothing will ever occur in our life that our Sovereign God is not controlling and planning to work out for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). There is just one condition needed for us to feel His love flowing over us like a waterfall: that we completely trust in His love for us.

If we have need of nothing, we have no opportunity to implicitly trust in our good, good Father God. He is our only ever-present source of supply through His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).

Whenever we have a need, His provision is always there. He reveals His truth and will to us, and we walk in it. We serve at the pleasure of our King of kings.

Jesus in us is our Bread of Life and out of our spirit flows the Living Water from Him (John 4:14, 6:35). We spiritually feed the hungry multitudes all around us, as they come to hear the words of Him who gives them life too.

When God places a burden on our heart, it is for the purpose of stirring us into action. He either wants us to pray about it, or to act on it according to His will. Where He leads, we will follow.

Prayer:

Father God, regardless of our circumstances, if we are in the center of Your will, we are in the happiest place on this earth. We rejoice in You always, regardless of our circumstances (Philippians 4:4). We abide with You now, as well as in eternity (John 15:4-9).

Rather than living in desperation, fear and worry, we live a life of praise to You. We count it all joy, even in the midst of harrowing trials (James 1:2-3). We are assured that, regardless of our lack or loss, You are still in control; You have our best interest in the forefront of Your mind. Thank You for being our Rock in both the sunshine and the rain (Psalm 18:2).

Thought for the Day:

We learn to be content with what God provides for us in the way and the timing in which He supplies it; this allows us to abide in the joy of the Lord, which is our true source of strength. - Nehemiah 8:10

God's Loving Grace

God's grace is all that we need for a fulfilled Christian life, because His power is made perfect when we are weak, humble, and surrendered to His Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When we realize how frail, clueless, backward, and lacking that we are, we can rejoice; because Christ in us is always enough. He gives us the power, wisdom, boldness, and anointing that we need in order to accomplish all that He calls us to do.

God does not focus on our accomplishments, talents, successes, popularity, Bible knowledge, or bank account. His priority is that we love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27), as well as other Believers and the human race all around us, just like He does (Mark 12:29-31).

His unconditional love fills us, so that we can express it to those He brings our way. Sharing God's love is more than a feeling, and more than an action, it is a permanent objective that we adopt into our lifestyle.

Love is one of the fruit that God's Spirit's works into our soul - our thoughts, feelings and choices (1 Corinthians 13:4). It is a characteristic of Christ's divinity within us. God's love is gracious, considerate, merciful and empathetic toward a broken world (Luke 6:36-42).

God's grace is sufficient to see us through any issue that we may face. His Spirit frees us from our paralyzing uncertainty and self-doubt. He even uses our biggest flaws, as He turns them into our most amazing ministry.

Through Christ in us, we are more than enough. We are also more than conquerors by the power of God's Holy Spirit (Romans 8:37). The Holy Spirit's comfort, guidance and sanctification is only a prayer away.

As we come to God as little children, open and honest and guileless, He opens His arms wide in acceptance of us just the way we are (Mark 9:37, 10:14-15).

Prayer:

Father God, one reason that we love You is that You loved us first - even while we were still lost in sin (Romans 5:8). You gave us Your only begotten Son, Jesus, so that if we humble our self and believe in Him, we shall not live in eternal damnation (John 3:16-18). Instead, we will enjoy Your abundant, eternal life forever (Galatians 3:26-27).

Through Jesus, we are Your children - by faith in His redemptive work on Calvary's cross. Thank You for the opportunity to be baptized into Christ, and to clothe our self completely with His divine nature (Hebrews 11:11; 2 Peter 1:4). We revel in Your faithfulness to us, because You always fulfill Your promises (Romans 10:10).

Thought for the Day:

It is with our heart that we believe that Jesus justifies us with His life, and it is with our mouth that we profess our faith in His faithfulness to save us completely and utterly. - John 6:35

A Peace-filled Life

In today's lifestyle of hurry and scurry, we seldom take the time to listen to our body, soul and spirit. More stress and anxiety is heaped upon our current pressure, tension and discontentment to create a perfect storm in our life.

Bad news outweighs good news, and we shrivel up inside - in our soul, because we do not have the energy or fortitude to bear up under any more trouble.

As God's adopted children, we forget to trust in and rely only on Him. We fail to acknowledge Him before we do anything, and to discover His will, before we attempt to face the lion's den with our own human power.

We develop expectations about what our life should be like, and we miss the blessings that God is always pouring out on us. We look for enormous provision, and we overlook the simple bounty with which He floods our life.

God is our only reliable source of power and wisdom to face life's daunting circumstances. Without consulting Him each moment of our day, we are only as strong as the limits of our natural talents and temperament (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Christ in us is our life. He is enough (Colossians 3:3-4). His presence in our life makes us enough to face, conquer and succeed in every area in which He calls us to minister.

Our Shepherd knows where the green pastures and peaceful waters are, and He leads us there (Psalm 23:1). We only need to faithfully follow His direction. He is our all in all (Colossians 3:11).

As we totally surrender to His will for our life, and as we lay down all of our expectations, He floods our life with His joy and peace; and He leads us in the way in which we should go (Psalm 32:8).

Prayer:

Father God, You are our peace, and You break down every wall that hinders us in our relationship with You and in our ministry in Your name (Ephesians 2:14). Although we do not always see Your provision, respect Your timing, or recognize Your supply when it comes, we are slowly learning to expect to see the miracle that You plant within every single trial that we face.

We want to fully trust in Your goodness, in spite of our circumstances. We desire to see life on this earth as You see it, with spiritual eyes, rather than carnal ones. We use every breath that You give us to pour out praises to Your name, and we trust in You even in our bleakest hours.

Thought for the Day:

When our life tilts out of our control, we look to God for strength, wisdom, provision and direction to walk in His will through every dizzying moment of time.