Say, "I do"

Nothing will make you lose your religion like a relationship that has lost its savor. You stood before God and swore that you would remain with your sweetheart forever. But the person you are with now is like a totally different being from the one who stood with you at the alter.  They don't talk.  They don't listen.  They don't want to work.  They are always working.  They don't want to spend time with you or they never let you out of their sight.  They don't even look like they used to look.  Truth be told...you hate you ever married them and you often wonder why God ever let you marry this person?  Didn't he know what kind of relationship this would turn out to be? 

Yes, he did. God knew precisely how things would turn out  with the two of you. I'm willing to bet that if you think back you'll  remember that God tried to show you exactly what kind of person you were getting.  He likely showed you in more ways than one. God doesn't let us walk into a serious choice like marriage blindly.  After all is said and done, though, he does allow us to make the final call.  The problem is that most of us don't listen for God's voice until after the vows have already been spoken.  Speaking of the vows, what vow did you take on that day?  Was there a promise in there somewhere to stick it out no matter what? If so, pray for God to help you do as much as is in you possibly can do to keep those vows.  Your vows are important.  Your marriage is important.  After you've done your part, ask God to take it from there. And when you hear in your spirit God asking you, "Do you trust me to make the right decisions for you and to work in your behalf?"....."Do you believe that I will do what is best for you?"..... "Do you want what I want, more than what you want."...with your spirit and heart say...."I do."

Scripture:
Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:5-9
And he answered and said unto them, Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And he said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and the two shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Prayer:
Lord, help us and our spouse operate in Godly wisdom where it concerns our marriage.  Order everything concerning us according to your will and perfect design. Amen.

It's Personal

    

To this point, my blogs have been general. This one will be different.  This one is personal.  Years ago I made a choice that put me in a situation.  It's not a sinful situation, just a difficult one.  It was a choice that I made years ago out of stubbornness, self sufficiency, and plain old ignorance.   My family tried to redirect me.  Friends of mine talked to me.  In hindsight I now know that God also dropped me several hints trying to give me clarity.  I chose to do things my way.  Today, years later, the decision that I made then still affects me.  I have grown so much since then but sometimes I find myself reverting.  When I feel like God isn't moving quick enough and I want the situation fixed now and fixed my way, I fall back into stubbornness, self sufficiency, and plain old ignorance again.  Well, we've probably all heard it said...to have something different you have to do something different.  My hands fashioned this mess and if I put my hands back in it the most I can do is refashion the mess. But it will still be...a mess.  So today I am choosing to do something different.  I am choosing to give it to God, with no allowances for myself to take it back into my own hands.  God's word says if we call on him he will answer us and show us great and unsearchable things we don't know.  It also says that he is a very present help.  I believe that's true.  So I when I finish writing this and click the orange publish button, I won't just be posting today's blog.  I am declaring my belief that God's word applies even to this situation.  This is a post of faith. 

 

I am sure you are wondering what the situation is.  Like I said, it's personal and to go in depth could be offensive for someone very important in my life.  So in the meantime, stand with me in prayer that I won't get in the way of God handling this thing for me. Then meet me back here each Sunday...because an in depth praise report is coming.

 

Scripture:

Psalm 46:1       

God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble

Jeremiah 33:3  

Call on me and I will answer thee and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Psalm 46:10     

Be still and know that I am God:

 

Prayer:

God you are my refuge and strength.  You are an ever present help in trouble.  I am calling on you. Help me to not get in the way of you helping me. Amen.

Who's Your Momma?

From your creation, you are an intimate and integral part of your mother.  God has designed a mother's spirit, soul, and even her physical body to cover and keep her child.  So protecting, nurturing, and providing are innate to her.  A mother will go to great lengths to provide for her child and will, at all costs, keep them out of harm's way.  When a women is pregnant she carries that child with her when she wakes, when she sleeps, when she works, and when she rests.  She can be tired, sick, even near death...they still are never separate.  That never changes.  Long after a mother has physically parted from her child and her child is then grown and gone, a mother still wakes, sleeps, works, and rests carrying her child in her heart.  The love that a mother has for her child is second only to God's love.  When a mother safeguards her offspring, she is safeguarding herself because to lose her child would mean certain death for a great part of her.  A woman who doesn't portray relentless love for her baby only fails to do so because something traumatic in their lives has broken them rendering them unable to function as intended.  Who's your momma? Pray for her today. It doesn't matter if you never had a relationship with her or if she is the best mother on earth. Matters not if she is your birth mother, step mother, adopted mother, God mother, or play mother.  Pray for her and thank God for whatever good she has done for you.

 

 

                  Scripture: Exodus 20:12

 

Honor your father and thy mother: so your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you.   Prayer:   Lord please bless us to have the wisdom to honor our parents.  Also, give us the strength to honor parents who have been less than honorable.  Parent our children through us Lord that the earth would be full of your goodness. Amen.

 

It's In There

Like gems hidden in a golden chest, the Bible has priceless treasure tucked inside.  What ever word of wisdom you have need of, it's in there.  There are four especially invaluable pearls of wisdom that you should make it a point to dive in the Word for.  The Ten Commandments are one of them.  The commandments are God's recipe for having the good life.  They are guidelines that protect us from ourselves and help us maintain eligibility for blessings.  Psalm 23 is another nugget that can be found in the Bible.  Psalm 23 reminds us of the nature of our relationship with God.  It reassures us that God is for us and with us all the days of our lives.  Maybe you just want to know how to get a blessing. Well, the Beatitudes can help with that.  Read them and you may be surprised to see who God sees as blessed.  If you are just getting in to prayer and you need a little help with how to go about it, the Bible has something for you.  The Lord's Prayer is a diamond that Jesus himself used to exemplify a good prayer.  You can pray the Lord's Prayer to connect with God until you feel comfortable talking to God in your own way.  The Ten Commandments, Psalm 23, The Beatitudes, and The Lord's Prayer are only a small portion of the innumerable gifts God has given us in his Word.  There is so much more treasure to be discovered. So open your Bible and dig deep.

 

Scripture:

Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments

Psalm 23: The Twenty-third Psalm

Matthew 5: 3 - 11 & Luke 6: 20 -22 The Beatitudes

Matthew 6: 9 - 13 & Luke 11: 2 - 4 The Lord's Prayer

 

Prayer:

Lord compel us to get into your word and compel us to get your word in us.  Bless us to receive the wisdom, understanding, and truth offered to us in the Holy Bible. Amen.