I am so excited that God has used me to share His Word this past year. I appreciate each of you that has journeyed through Heaven’s Gardens with me. I am taking a two week break to finish packing and get settled into my new home! Please explore the archives and find a post that maybe you have missed. I am sharing my very first posts on social media. Be blessed and I promise to be back refreshed and at peace from my new season!
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I don’t feel like it. I’m tired. Although there are so many good things happening right now, I’m exhausted….. Have you ever felt like this? It’s a lot of work to take care of a home, kids, and a husband. I’m sure whatever you need to do is hard work too. The point is, no matter how we “feel”, we can’t give up. We have an assignment that we have accepted from the Lord.
The moment we said yes to God and accepted Him as our Savior, we exchanged our will for His. The moment we said I do to our spouse, we gave up our flesh and combined it with theirs. The moment we had a baby, we gave up our “right” to be selfish. Parenting is selfless and unconditional. When we start getting caught up in our “feelings”, it is time to remember Jesus. Do you think Jesus felt like praying for hours in the garden before He was to be betrayed? His disciples didn’t, they fell asleep. Do you think He felt like being falsely accused and tortured for sins that He never committed? Do you think He felt like giving up His own life for people who were yet in sin and didn’t believe? I can’t imagine Him “feeling” like doing any of these things, yet He did them because He chose to be obedient to the assignment that the Father gave Him. He chose to love even when He didn’t feel loved. His obedience brought salvation, everlasting life to those who believe. Hebrews 12:1-3(NKJV) The Race of Faith 12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The Discipline of God 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. While we fall short of the perfection of Jesus, our behavior should be Christ-like. Every assignment holds purpose. Our marriage comes with an attached assignment. The devil is after the family structure. He wants to come into our homes and destroy our marriage and steal our children’s identity. He wants to kill our desire to fulfill our assignment by getting us caught up in our feelings. He wants us to “feel” like we can’t do it anymore because he is afraid of what will happen when we stay committed. His job is to keep us “feeling” dissatisfied in every situation. This will bring on bitterness and a pessimistic attitude that nobody will want to be around. We can’t become discouraged in our souls! I was told by a prophet that I was about to enter into a season of fulfillment! What an awesome word. Many things are coming together and I am receiving the desires of my heart. But even our own desires won’t satisfy us if we have a wrong perspective. The Lord told me that fulfillment is being content in every situation while pursuing what God is doing next. We never arrive to a place of idleness. The Lord constantly graduates us in faith, glory, and strength. If we don’t find contentment where we are at, our journey will be miserable and we will want to give up. We are to expect the next great thing, but can’t despise where we start. We can have peace knowing that God is with us when we surrender ourselves to Him. Philippians 4:11-13 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ[b] who strengthens me. When we learn to be content, we learn how to do all things through God’s strength. It has nothing to do with what we feel. It doesn’t have anything to do with our own ability, but has everything to do with our surrender to Him. Don’t give up! Remember what God has done for you. Remember why you do what you do. Remember what God has promised you. He hasn’t changed His mind and wants to give you peace. Give your feelings to God and let His peace satisfy your soul. Philippians 4:6-7 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus Father, we thank You that You are the One that satisfies us with Your goodness. Father forgive us for getting caught up in our feelings and falling into a place of discontentment. Show us how to be content in all situations and complete each assignment by Your strength. We choose not to give up on our marriage, our children, and those that You have connected us to. Make us finishers in our race of faith. Keep our hearts and minds in peace as we continue to seek You for every situation that we face. We speak life to our homes and come against every attack that the enemy brings to cause destruction. Give us strategy, wisdom, and endurance to stay on course and finish our assignment. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! It’s spring cleaning time! What better way to spend April Fool’s Day than to clean our marriage of foolish build up? It is easy to get caught up in pettiness and folly when each person is working hard and desiring to be recognized. Sometimes we forget that we are both working towards the same goal. We need to sweep out pride and remember our success is for God’s glory.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Once we remember that the Lord is our focus, we have to evaluate if we have been willing to receive wisdom and instruction from our spouse. If not, we have been fools. Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. Only a fool thinks that they are always right. It takes wisdom to realize there is truth in the counsel of others. In marriage our best counselor is our spouse. They know us intimately and should have our best interests in mind because our success is ultimately their success as well. Proverbs 3:35 The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. When we keep up foolishness in our homes, we are leaving a legacy of shame for our children. Only wisdom can inherit God’s glory. We need to be seeking wisdom in every area of our lives and building a legacy of glory for our children. Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. Our words hold power. When we see something in our homes that is not in alignment with the will of God, we must pray and speak life to that situation. The more we pray, encourage, and affirm, the stronger our house will be. Nagging and complaining will work as a wrecking ball to destroy it. Proverbs 18:2 A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart. We have to also remember to listen. We can’t hoard our own thinking and only give room for what we feel in our own hearts. We need to throw away selfishness and make room for understanding to come in. Our hearts should be knitted together with love. If we don’t desire to understand our spouse’s perspective, then the stitching that holds us together will likely unravel. Proverbs 20:3 It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel. We have to organize our thoughts and strategically place our words. There is no honor in starting arguments with our spouse, it only leads to dishonor. When we get rid of the clutter in our brains that come from insecurities and double mindedness, we can better communicate our disagreements. We can issue our concerns in love and be received instead of immediately rejected out of defense. Proverbs 21:20 There is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it. When we get rid of all foolishness, we receive a treasure! The oil of provision and anointing will dwell with us. Only a fool would waste what the Lord promises. Let’s choose wisdom for our marriage. Let’s open up the windows of our hearts and air out the staleness that has set in. Let the fresh wind of God blow in our homes and over our marriages. Let the blood of Jesus cleanse us from infectious and contagious germs and bacteria that have settled in places that we have neglected to wash with Your Word. Father we thank You that You give us access to Your wisdom. Forgive us for being fools and letting foolishness to enter into our marriage. Expose every place of folly and replace it with Your Wisdom. We refuse to be fools. We put our trust in You and desire the fear of the Lord that leads us to understanding. We choose to build our spouse with counsel, encouragement and prayer. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! As we enter into the season of resurrection, it is a good time to contemplate not only on what Jesus has done for us, but also what it means for us personally. Marriage can be filled with the fruit of many things that we cause to be dead. We can become cold, bitter, and unforgiving causing our love for one another to be distant. While this type of death is not too hard for Jesus to resurrect, He is looking for us to put to death our sin so that He may help us walk completely in what He purposed on the cross.
Ephesians 5:1-2 Walk in Love 5 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Christ gave himself for us. He didn’t get forced to be crucified. In Matthew 26:53 it even states that if He wanted to, He could ask His Father and more than 12 legions of angels would be put to flight on His behalf. He chose to be an offering for our sin, healing, and deliverance. Walking in love means that we have to sacrifice our flesh. We have to surrender our will for His and evaluate what we have killed in our relationships so that He can resurrect them. We must surrender our attitudes, bitterness, unforgiveness, and all of our hurt to Him. He can’t make us whole without permission. We have to surrender ourselves to Him. Ephesians 5:8-14 Walk in Light 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit[b] is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” When we surrender our unfruitfulness to God, we are giving Jesus permission to expose what’s dead and come in as light to drive out darkness and cause resurrection to take place. The longer we hide in the dark, the worse we will feel and the farther we become from our purpose. 1 John 1:9 NKJV If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Just as Christ forgives us, we must also forgive. We might have many reasons to be mad at our spouse, but we must also be accountable for our part. Did we respond using the fruit of the spirit? Did we allow our anger to lead us into sin? Did we hold on to offense and let it take root and sprout resentment and bitterness? Most times if we address issues quickly, then they can be resolved quickly. God is faithful to cleanse us from unrighteousness. It is the enemy that wants us to hold on to things secretly without addressing them. So today I encourage you to ask God what have you allowed to die in your marriage. I challenge you to willingly crucify your flesh so that God may resurrect your passion and purpose for one another. Expose the enemy by allowing Jesus to come in as light. Know that God has a plan for every situation, even when it looks like the enemy is winning. Jesus finished the work of the cross so that we may also finish the work that God has started in us! Father, we thank You for resurrection power. We thank You that You loved us enough to give Your Son for our sins. Forgive us for hiding in dark places instead of allowing Jesus to come in as light. We come to You today surrendering our flesh and asking You to crucify every work of darkness. We want to be resurrected with You and experience the full power of the cross. We want our marriage to carry the passion of the cross with full resurrection of any good fruit that has died. Grow us in the fruit of the spirit and cleanse us from any unrighteousness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! When my husband and I first got married, he had been laid off from a job that he had for years in manufacturing and had starting going to school for surgical technology. Rational thinking would say that going into that field doesn’t make sense, but God doesn’t care how we rationalize things. His previous company down sized and sent jobs overseas. This qualified him for a grant that would pay for his schooling and still allow him to get his unemployment. He prayed over the jobs that he was to choose from and God led him to his new career. It was hard work. It was like learning a new language with all the medical terminology. He studied night and day. He carried around notecards everywhere that he went. I would quiz him until he got them all right, and he would look through them every chance that he got. He would even be whispering terms in his sleep!
During those times my husband was carrying a heavy load. I worked, but didn’t make much money and his unemployment was significantly less than he was accustomed to. His old job even called and asked did he want his job back. What a great temptation it was to go back to what’s familiar, but he stood on what God told Him. Psalm 37:23 (NKJV) 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. He left the old and embraced the path that God set before him despite the challenges that we faced. God delighted in his way because of his obedience. Provision was always there. My car died on me and I no longer had a way to work, so his brother started taking me back and forth along with bringing my children to school. He did this without complaints and asking nothing in return for a long period of time. When his job changed and he could no longer help us, a friend who lived completely out of the way offered to pick us up and drop us off. She had to pass her destination to come get us and backtrack to our destination (we worked together and our children went to school together). None of this made sense, but God made it happen! When we didn’t have money to pay for daycare for our baby, different people (without knowledge of our situation) payed several weeks of daycare at a time. We have been through many different situations through our short almost six-year journey. I can go on and on about how God has blessed us. What seems impossible with man is always possible with God. I encourage you to not give up but submit your path to Him and watch how He delights in you! Your obedience will always lead you to blessing. Your faith will always please Him. Keep your hope in Him as your source and He will always provide! Romans 15:13 NKJV Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is doing new things and the best is yet to come. Encourage each other, pray for each other, and believe in the gifts that God has placed in each other. Don’t settle. Always give your best and God will give You His best! God is building marriages and restoring families. Nothing is too hard for Him. Father, we thank You for being a God who provides. Forgive us for sometimes picking our own path without seeking You first. Forgive us for being fearful of doing new things. We submit our paths to You and ask that You order our steps. Lead the way and we will follow. Help us walk in agreement and unity with our spouse. We want You to take delight in us. We know that when we delight ourselves in you that you give us the desires of our hearts. Keep our hearts tender to your Word. Help us hate what You hate and love what you love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! God brings us through many seasons in our marriage. When we commit ourselves to Him and make covenant with Him for our marriage to bring Him glory, He will align us with our purpose. No matter what season that we are in, we must always remember our God.
Deuteronomy 8:2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. Sometimes, pride can keep us from achieving our purpose. We get comfortable in our gifts and talents and start believing in our own ability instead of the favor and mercy of God that has given it to us. God humbles and tests us in our seasons to cleanse us from impurities in our heart. When we are married, we must be humbled and let God lead us through every season. We must submit to one another, but put our trust in God. We can’t put our trust in ourselves or in each other. Without God, we will ultimately fail each other. When we come into the seasons of abundance, we need to remember how God led us through them. Psalm 111:3-5 (NKJV) 3 His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever. 4 He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. 5 He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. God takes care of us and remembers all of His promises towards us. Just as He is gracious and full of compassion towards us, we are to show the same towards our spouse. God is mindful of His relationship with us. We also need to be mindful of our relationship with Him and the covenant we made with our spouse before Him. In our marriage vows we clearly promise to love through all the different seasons that life may bring. Just as God loves us unconditionally, so should our love be towards our spouse. We don’t have to like everything that they do, but we must contend together to get through the hard times. Isaiah 43:25-26 (NKJV) 25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. 26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. God forgives our sins. He wants us to bring them to Him and repent so that He may forgive. Love holds no record of wrongs. When God forgives, He doesn’t hold it against us. When we forgive our spouse, we cannot keep bringing it back up. We have to move forward and praise God for bringing us out and restoring us. John 16:21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Every season that God brings us through holds a purpose. The wilderness or dry seasons are the pregnancy seasons. We must trust what God is doing and continue to feed our purpose with His Word. We have to let Him cleanse us and prepare us for the pain of giving birth. Most times, the hardest times are right before our breakthrough. It’s important to stick it out and get through the labor so that we may experience the beauty of the end result. When we receive His promise, the joy will make us forget the pain while remembering how God brought us through! Deuteronomy 8:18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Once we come into our promise, we must always remember that it was Him that brought us out. When we remember God in everything we do, He will give us power to get wealth in every area of our lives. We want to be wealthy in our marriage. Full of love, understanding, wisdom, and compassion. We want to be wealthy in unity, mercy and forgiveness towards one another. We want to be wealthy in our purpose and be a blessing towards others. Wealth is a spirit and lifestyle that gives God glory and draws others towards Him. It breaks the spirit of poverty and brokenness and brings fullness and wholeness that comes from trusting in Him. I encourage you today to not give up. Ask God what the purpose of your season is. Commit to humbling yourself and making it to the birthing process of your season. Your marriage is called to be wealthy. Abundance is your portion. Get ready to give birth! Father, we thank you that You are mindful of our covenant. Forgive us for not remembering all that You have done for us. We commit our marriage to You and trust that You have plans to prosper us. Help us contend together to reach the promise. Give us strength to endure the hard seasons and humility to remember You during seasons of abundance. Above all help us love unconditionally and give You glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! Marriage is the knitting together of 2 souls to become 1 flesh. When a couple begins their journey their dreams are stirred up and they have a vision/plan of where they will be someday. Although our plans are sometimes different from God’s plans, the desires that we have are tied into our purpose.
Faith helps keep us knitted together. As long as we can visualize our dream, we can move forward in our journey. Faith puts our trust in God, and not in our self or our spouse. If we begin to solely depend on our own abilities and strength, we will become exhausted. Working towards a purpose is good, but if we lose vision of the end result we will never obtain it. We can get caught up in a routine without moving forward. Hebrews 11:1-2 (NKJV) 11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. Our faith brings us substance and evidence. This is a promise of tangible and attainable reward coming from a supernatural and unexplainable source. It brings a good testimony. One that says “I don’t know how it happened, but God did it”! In marriage, we must remember to encourage each other in our faith. When one loses sight we must point them back towards the plan that God gave us from the beginning. We must constantly keep our faith knitted together with the purposes of God. This will bring us fulfillment, keep us united and walking together in agreement. Matthew 17:20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. Our faith can move any obstacle that our marriage faces. When we apply our faith together in prayer and praise, the enemy doesn’t stand a chance. The angels are multiplied and God’s presence inhabits our praise. We are submitting to God and resisting the devil so he and his obstacles must flee! Luke 17:6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Our faith can remove any things that have been rooted in our marriage that are misplaced. We need to constantly evaluate what we are letting take root and if it belongs in our homes. If we allow things to be planted that don’t belong, we have the authority by faith to uproot it and make it move! We don’t have to continue to let the enemy produce fruit that has no place in our purpose. God takes pleasure in our prosperity, but it is impossible to please God without faith. Prosperity is defined as a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition. This is not limited to finance. This includes every area of our lives, including marriage. God wants our marriages to prosper. So let’s intentionally stir up our faith and become pleasing unto Him. He will be sure to give us a good testimony by blessing us with things that we have hoped for in ways that will give Him glory! Praise the name of Jesus! Father, we thank You for giving our marriage purpose. Ignite our faith and resurrect our dreams. Forgive us for getting caught up in surviving and not thriving. We want to please You. We want You to take pleasure in our marriage. Activate a gift of faith that will move mountains and uproot trees. Give us a good testimony so that our marriage will give You glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! Do you know the plans that God has for your marriage? God does, even if you’re unsure. Once you became married, if you are a believer, you became a team in God’s division to advance the Kingdom of God. Each of our marriages play a different part. My team will have different strengths and weaknesses than your team. We will strategize differently and execute the plan differently. As long as our methods don’t step out of the realm of the Word of God, then anything goes. The possibilities are limitless. The awesome part is that even in our weakness, God is strong and we never have to compete against our division. The only team we fight against is the devil’s and we do that in the spirit!
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. When we fight in the spirit and put on our armor, we will become more in tune of what our purpose is. As we push back the enemy, God will reveal strategy and give us understanding. Ephesians 6:10-11 (NKJV) The Whole Armor of God 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The only way to stand against attacks against our marriages is to be strong in the Lord. We can’t do it by our own understanding or power. Ephesians 6:14-18 (NKJV) 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- We must stand in truth, righteousness, peace from knowing/believing the gospel, faith, salvation, the word of God, prayer, and watchful perseverance. If we build our marriage wearing this uniform, then our team will always win. That is our purpose, to always win! When we submit our marriage the Lord He will direct us and work everything out for our good. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths. Romans 8:28 (NKJV) 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. God has called each of our marriages for a purpose, so when we love God, He will work everything out for our good. We can’t lean on our own understanding or that from man’s opinions. We have to trust God, acknowledge Him in everything, and He will show us which way to go. We will learn along the way and grow into our purpose. My life is way different than I have ever expected it turn out. When I was a child I never imagined that I would be a stay at home Mom of 5 children. Honestly, on paper, it doesn’t make sense. Our decisions as a family often seem foolish to others, but because we have been led by God and trust in His promises, He has always provided. We are richly, deeply, blessed beyond anything that I could have imagined. I love my life and am so grateful to be playing on the winning team! Father, we thank You for being the best coach ever! Forgive us for not wearing the armor that You have provided. Forgive us for leaning on our own understanding and doing things based on what seems right to the world. We submit ourselves and our marriages to You. Teach us how to wear our armor. We love You and seek You to reveal what path that we should take next. We want to build a winning team that will help advance Your kingdom and bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! Being a married believer is the ultimate test of Christian character. It is a true measurement of our inward parts and the areas that we still need deliverance. It is easy to put on a mask for a couple of hours and play nice with others, especially when they don’t hold relevance in our inner circle. It is not so easy to hide all of our flaws with those who are the closest to us, in this case, our spouse.
When we become frustrated with ourselves, it is so easy to see all of our spouse’s flaws. We can dissect them and recognize root causes and generational curses, while our stuff sits deep in our souls waiting for the perfect opportunity to manifest. They always seem to explode out of nowhere after festering for a while. It’s always the littlest thing. We let things build up ignoring the pile until one day, boom, the straw that breaks the camel’s back! Matthew 7:1-5(NKJV) Do Not Judge 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. It’s not that we can’t help remove the speck, but we first have to be sure that our eyes are clean and clear! When we feel ourselves rising to the occasion to add to foolishness, we must first evaluate our response. Responding in our own dysfunction will only cause the speck in their eye to go deeper and splinter the vision of our spouse. A hard response will distort their vision and even if we are right, they won’t be able to get past their scarred vision looking at our flawed eyes! The key is to take care of our self first. After all, this is a fruit of the spirit (self-control Galatians 5:23). This means checking ourselves; our response, attitudes, words, motives, and filters. Once we evaluate these things, we may calmly approach our spouse in love by the leading of the Holy Spirit. This may seem like a long process, but it can all happen in moments. If we surrender to the Holy Spirit, He will immediately convict us, search us, and draw us to repentance. It will only be a long process if we are being hard- headed and rebellious. People are watching us. Some people are cheering us on and looking for an example. Others want us to fail so that they can say I knew their God wasn’t real. It is our responsibility as believers to show the love of God to everyone, but it must first start at home! 1 John 4:11-12 (NKJV) 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Seeing God Through Love 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. We love our spouse regardless of their flaws and help them along the way as they help us. Let’s not be hypocrites. Let’s continue to bring our flesh to the Lord as we seek to be perfected in His love. Father, we thank You for marriage. We thank You that You have given us a companion to enjoy our journey through our purpose. Forgive us for trying to fix our spouse before looking in the mirror. We realize we are far from perfection and want people to see God’s love when looking at us. Help us use self control and seek deliverance in areas that challenge us. Make us clean so that when our spouse does fall short, we can help them in love and not bitterness. We want our marriage to be an example that gives You glory and draws people close to Your presence. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! Love is all consuming. It is an intentional heart posture that is filled with the presence of God.
1 John 4:16 (NKJV) 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. God is everywhere. He is with the sinner as well as the saint. He is in all things, and moves through everything. He sees all, hears all, and knows all. We cannot hide from Him. Once we receive Jesus in our hearts, we become aware of His presence. His Spirit then dwells in us to guide and comfort us through our journey of life. Psalm 139:7 (NKJV) 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? With that being said, there is a difference with God being everywhere and us being in His presence. To be in His presence is to know Him intimately. It is resting in a place of safety and love. It is being filled with His Joy. This fullness can only be found by intentionally pursuing His fellowship. Exodus 33:14 (NKJV) 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Psalm 16:11 (NKJV) 11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. God wants us to look for Him with all of our heart. Sometimes we can’t see Him in our situation but He promises that if we seek Him then we will find Him. Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I believe marriage is the same way. After all, it is supposed to mirror the relationship that Jesus has with us. Sometimes we get too comfortable being around one another. We go about our day routinely knowing that our spouse will play their role and we will play ours. We are together in the same location, but we haven’t spent time in each other’s presence. This is a dangerous place to be in. God gave us covenant to become one flesh. When we lose intimacy (emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually) with one another, then we become frustrated, doubting, bitter, just to name a few. When Adam and Eve sinned, God never left them. They were the ones that separated themselves from God’s presence. They didn’t resist temptation and were ashamed to be in the presence of God. Genesis 3:8 (NKJV) 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Sin always leads to separation. We open ourselves up to sin when we stop pursuing each other’s presence. If we are no longer communicating with our spouse the enemy will send a “good” listener. If we are no longer affirming their purpose, the enemy will send an “encourager”. If we are no longer being romantic, the enemy will send a “flirt”. There is always a counterfeit to look good as a replacement in times of weakness. We must actively pursue each other and recognize when “something” is off. There is never an excuse to break covenant with our spouse and each one is accountable for their own actions. I am just saying that not pursuing the presence of our spouse can open a door of sin that they may have a hard time resisting to open. The good thing is that there is always hope. Even when we fall short God provides a way of reconciliation. Acts 3:19 (NKJV) 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, We have to be quick to repent. We must seek God’s forgiveness and that of our spouse as well. Even in the “little” things admitting that we are wrong will open the door to healing and forgiveness. We must be humble towards each other and recognize when we are wrong. We must be compassionate towards our spouse and see their hearts as God sees them. Isn’t this what Jesus exemplified? We must dwell in the love of our spouse just as we bide in the love of Jesus and He in us. This is what love is. John 15:9 (NKJV) 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. We come into God’s presence by thanking, praising, and blessing Him. Psalm 100:4 (NKJV) 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. If we are feeling disconnected to our spouse, we can reconnect by doing the same. When we thank, praise, and bless our spouse we are opening a door to intimacy. It shows that we are actively pursuing their presence and not just their existence! Matthew 18:20 (NKJV) 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” When we submit to one another to glorify the Lord, He is also with us. Therefore, who can then separate us! When we stay in God’s presence, there is a 3 fold cord that holds us together. Love is….. an active word. Love is…. the Word being active! Today let love be active in your marriage. Thank your spouse, praise your spouse, and bless your spouse. Get into their presence and choose to love them how God loves them! 1 Corinthians 13:4-7(NKJV) 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Father, we thank you for Your presence. We thank You that You first loved us so that we may love You back. We thank You for the example of Love that Jesus has given for our marriage. Forgive us for not pursuing the presence of our spouse. Help us be intimately and actively in Love. Let us experience joy, rest, and fullness in our marriage. Let the Word be active in our love for one another. Give us creative ways to thank, praise, and bless our spouse. Help us always be quick to repent to receive Your refreshing. We want to abide in You and also with each other. Let us be known by our love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen! |
Bonnie Kay Rimpson
God has truly restored me after having a torn soul from broken relationships and even a divorce. After receiving Jesus as my Savior, God took me through a process of knowing my identity and loving myself so that I may love others. Now I am happily married to a man after God's own heart, who loves me with the love of God. Archives
October 2016
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