January 31, 2006 Safely in God's Will Ephesians 5:15-17 Television ads urge people to live in the moment--to grasp instant gratification without considering consequences. This is the way Satan wants believers to think. He hopes we'll enjoy sin's passing pleasure so much that we wander far from God. But when we think about the right course of action for our life, we not only disappoint Satan; we gain the Lord's best. Today, let's look at three more questions we can ask when seeking assurance of God's will.
Does this decision fit who I am in Christ? Anything that harms the body or mind is not acceptable for Christians. A prayer warrior who eats badly is subject to God's natural law: poor diet results in poor health. Our attitudes, relationships, and actions tell the world to whom we belong.
Does this decision honor God? The best way for us to honor the Lord is through our obedience. Any action taken by a believer should reflect Him. What's more, we want our choices--both large and small--to acknowledge that God is the master of our life.
Now that I know His will, am I willing to act? After Scripture reading, prayer, and thoughtful contemplation, we can be sure of the Lord's plan. Occasionally, even when we are confident of the path, we might wonder how following God will affect us. He understands this; that's why He promised, "For I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) When we are inside the heavenly Father's will, we cannot lose.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
Since you mentioned Ephesians 5, I thought you might be interested to know that there is a group of Catholic (and probably other faiths too) men called E5 Men who fast and pray the first Wednesday of every month for their wives and all other women as they put it:
Quote: The e5 Men will be fasting and praying for their brides and for you this month. As you cling to Christ's love may God bless you and answer all your petitions according to His will.
The last I knew they had more than 5,000 men doing this. I'm sure there are many more now. Their web site is: http://www.e5men.org/pages/
Pretty nice guys don't you think to try to make up for what men like our husbands have done to us?
It's based on: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph 5:25)
A prayer I use everyday at the start of the day is that I take authority in the name of Jesus to take away my wisdom, my understanding, my experience and my sinfulness. Just leave enough for a testimony to glorify our God.
'But I ask you, Lord Jesus, for your wisdom and understanding, that I may know you better and know your will. Then I ask you, Lord Jesus, to make me the person you want me to be. Not the person that I want to be, or others want me to be. I want to be yours and yours for all time.' For our God is a good God. He is full of love.
I thank you, Lord Jesus, for not needing my wants, but I thank you, Lord Jesus for wanting my needs. For you only supply our needs and we can trust in God all the time. He is the same today, yesterday and always. The God of Love and mercy.
We thank you, Lord, for low self-esteem, When we get there we find you it seems. The more hurt we get, the lower we go. The wear and the burden we soon have to throw. The lord is the one that takes away the doubt And He always hears each time we shout.
He said, 'I am Your Father and you are my son, And all that I ask, let My work be done.' He is a giver, He gives all the time. He is a friend of yours if you want to unwind. Go to the Father, then to the Son, To the Holy Spirit for they are all one.
Let us unite, love it is true, And be one, just like you, As the Lord said we should do.
‘In Christ…we find out who we are and what we are living for…’ Eph 1:11 TM
Sarah Ban Breathnach says: ‘Perfectionism has many aliases. Getting it right…fixing it… revising it…tinkering…having high standards. However, it has really nothing to do with [those] things. Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead. It’s…an obsessive debilitating closed system that causes you to get stuck…a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us nothing we do will ever be good enough.’
The media and the entertainment industry spends millions daily bombarding you with impossible images of airbrushed perfection. They make you think you should be thinner, smarter, better, anything other than who God made you to be. Looking around, all you see are people who seem happier, wiser and richer than you. It’s as if they know the secret and you don’t.
Do you realise that by constantly putting yourself down, you are insulting your Maker? God’s Word says you are ‘…fearfully and wonderfully made…’ (Psalm 139:NKJ). In His eyes you are ‘just right’ because He never makes anything that is not. God made you for a special purpose. Paul says it is in Christ that ‘…we find who we are and what we are living for…’
So if you are struggling in the endless quest for perfection, make this your prayer: ‘Father, You are my Maker, my Sustainer, my Rewarder. You are also the Lover of my soul. In spite of my limitations and struggles I thank You for the work You have done, and continue to do in me. Help me to honour You by loving and accepting myself the way You do. In Jesus’ name, amen.’
Excerpt from THE WORD FOR TODAY, UCB (United Christian Broadcasters), PO Box 255, Stoke-On-Trent, ST4 8YY, England. Free issues of the daily devotional are available for the UK and Republic of Ireland.
As we too are waiting for our Prodigals to return:
February 14, 2006 Showing Agape Love 1 Corinthians 13 Divine love empowers us to respond calmly to difficulties, to demonstrate patience in seasons of waiting, and to sacrifice without complaint. We offer God's love when we can:
Forgive others. The son wasted his money in riotous living and discovered both the empty promises and destructive quality of sin. Upon the boy's return, his father forgave him completely. Love made it possible to wipe away the past. (Psalm 103:12)
Act generously. The son, fresh from feeding pigs, arrived at his father's estate with few expectations. The forgiving dad greeted him most warmly and dressed him in the finest garments. Love keeps no record of wrongs. It enabled the father to show generosity.
Serve joyfully. What a celebration the father had upon the prodigal's return! His joy in his lost son's homecoming overflowed to others. Love expresses itself in willing service.
Restore those who fall. The one who both abandoned his father and squandered his inheritance was again given full rights as a son. Only God's love has the power to do this.
When we mess up, our heavenly Father patiently waits for us to turn back. He accepts our repentance, rejoices in our return, and restores intimacy with Him. The elder brother in this parable missed the point because of his self-righteous attitude. He didn't recognize his mistakes or the many times his father had shown him love and forgiveness. (1 John 1:8)
God calls us to a lifestyle of agape love. (John 13:35) To whom could you extend divine love that forgives, restores, and serves with generosity and joy?
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
Profiting From Pain Psalm 23:5-6 People rarely think of suffering as profitable. But when facing the difficulty and pain of a valley experience, we mature spiritually. We make discoveries about ourselves when trials peel away any façade we might typically display and instead expose who we truly are. As our life is shaken, we learn what forms our faith: the Scriptures or opinion. Consequently, valley experiences reveal priorities, spiritual crutches, and whether we boast of Christ or our own strength. God's purpose is to wrench away everything we depend on until nothing competes with Jesus' reign.
Crutches and bravado are to be replaced by a real dependence upon God. Believers are encouraged to recall that He provides for our needs--"prepare[s] a table before me in the presence of my enemies"--and heals our wounds--"anoint[s] my head with oil." (v. 5) A good shepherd rubbed oil onto the scrapes his sheep received while foraging. In that way, healing began before the animal left the valley floor. As a result of relying on our Shepherd, we experience renewed intimacy and a sense of inner peace that sustains us through the challenge and beyond.
God's children can profit from pain only by accepting the Father's work in the valleys. Fighting or crying for a way out gains us nothing. Accepting means asking the Lord two questions: What is Your goal for this time? and How am I to respond? Whatever the Lord's response, our next step is submitting ourselves and all we have to Him with the knowledge that our valley is really a gateway to His purpose and our profit.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
‘…That It Might Go Well With Them…’ Deuteronomy 5:29 NIV
Listen: ‘Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: But I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you’ (John 15:15 KJV). The difference between being a friend or a servant, lies in what you know. David said, ‘The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him…’ (Psalm 25:14 KJV). God will share things with those who are intimate with Him, that He won’t share with others. When you see somebody who’s clear-headed in the midst of confusion and cool when the heat is on, they might know a secret-shared with them by a friend.
Realise that when God tells you to do certain things He is not trying to make your life hard. No, He is setting you up for a blessing. Listen: ‘O that they…[would]…fear Me, and keep all My commandments, that it might go well with them…’(Deuteronomy 5:29 AMP). On the other end of anything God asks you to do, is the promise’….that it might go well with [you]… ‘Samuel said, ‘…to obey is better than sacrifice…’ (1 Samuel 15:22 KJV). God will sometimes require things of you that: a) He does not require of others b) He will not explain and you cannot understand c) when you have obeyed, you will not immediately see the benefits. But if you’re convinced that God has a unique plan for your life and loves you unconditionally, you will abandon yourself to Him in trust, knowing that in the end it will ‘go well’ with you.
Excerpt from THE WORD FOR TODAY, UCB (United Christian Broadcasters), PO Box 255, Stoke-On-Trent, ST4 8YY, England. Free issues of the daily devotional are available for the UK and Republic of Ireland.
February 24, 2006 An Unseen Battle Ephesians 6:10-12 Satan does exist--our broken society testifies to his reality. Those who ignore him do so at their own peril. This is also true of Christians because we are all at war against him. Spiritual warfare is personal; Satan crafts specific attacks for each individual. Though he cannot steal a believer's spirit from God, he can and does harass us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Every ambush and frontal attack is meant to defeat our witness so we can't live a victorious Christ-centered life.
Our foe is not omniscient, but he is crafty. He observes our strong and weak points to determine the best areas for attack. As soon as his quarry becomes comfortable and least expects trouble, the Adversary springs a trap. Among his most deceptive tactics is hiding behind familiar faces in order to misguide our fury. For example, he may tempt a husband to make an unwise financial decision that angers the wife and leaves her feeling insecure. But the husband is not her enemy--he needs her love and forgiveness. The enemy is always Satan and his legion of demons.
The first rule of warfare is to know one's enemy, and thanks to Scripture, we can. The Bible also contains an important assurance: "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
The combined forces of hell cannot equal the supernatural power of a single believer. We have Christ living within us--the same Christ who was triumphant on the cross and whose final victory over Satan is prophesied in Revelation. Through Him, we can conquer Satan and win our unseen battles.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
March 03, 2006 Ending the Blame Game Galatians 5:19-25 A woman disciplining her son sends him to sit quietly in a chair. Glaring over his shoulder, he walks to the chair and circles it a few times until his mother says in a firm voice, "Sit down!" The boy does, but as she leaves the room, he calls after her, "I'm standing up on the inside!"
We can't control people, not even our own children. But thankfully, this universal truth means that we cannot be controlled by others, either. Yet we often cast blame as if someone else's actions dictated our emotional response: "Joe made me so mad?"In reality, Joe could not make you get mad; you chose to be angry (justifiably or not).We also decide whether to react in a godly or worldly fashion when someone hurts or frustrates us.
No matter how much blame we attempt to offload onto others, the Lord cannot be misled by our maneuvering. He looks only at the heart when determining how to discipline believers or convict them of sin. As a result, the blame game does not end up making us look better. Instead, it hinders our fellowship with God. The responses He is looking for are forgiveness when we are hurt and repentance when we do the injuring. Otherwise, we are too caught up in either vengeance or escaping culpability to focus on spiritual matters.
Followers of God are to sow peace and grow spiritual fruit like love, joy, and kindness. (Galatians 5:22-23) If you are clinging to blame, all that is growing are the emotional "weeds" separating you from God's best. Ask Him for forgiveness and the strength to forgive others. The blame game is over.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
