I once heard that someone said, "Being in love means never having to say you're sorry." I think whoever said that is probably divorced by now! The Truth is that husbands and wives must be quick to forgive and to humbly seek forgiveness from each other. "I Love You," "I'm Sorry," & "I forgive you" should be said often and meant from the heart.
God created mankind to have what He created nothing else to have. In Matthew 19:5 Jesus quoted Genesis 2:24, that talked about families for the very first time, and said that a husband and wife are to be closer than any other earthly relationship in this life. In this we can see that marital intimacy is born of a very unique relationship: one that involves committed, covenant love; years of shared sorrows, joys, tears, and laughter; security and hope for our future; and the blessing of our Heavenly Father. For intimacy to be the full gift that God intends it to be, it must involve the heart and soul of husband and wife in marriage.
This week we will see people who are hurting, people who are lonely, people who have given up on life. We will see people who have no idea where to turn for help. As servants of the most High God we should do everything we can to point them to Jesus. We should point them to Jesus by what we do, what we say, and who we have become. May God help us to do something good for Jesus today, to say something good about Jesus today, and to say something good for Jesus today.
I love a hymn in our hymn books on page 461, "BE NOT DISMAYED WHATE'ER BETIDE" … Verse "Be not dismayed whate'er betide, God will take care of you; Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you. Thru days of toil when heart doth fail God will take care of you; When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you. All you may need He will provide, God will take care of you; Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you. No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you. Chorus: God will take care of you, Thru every day, O'er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you." Read Matthew 7:7-11 in connection with this song.
This week a friend in Elk City took her life. This is not the first time that a friend has taken their life. A young lady that went to church with us in Hereford, a class mate of Brad's, took her life. She was married and had a child. While I was preaching at Elk, one of our Deacons took his own life. About two years ago, a close friend with a son in college at OU, took his own life. All these thoughts and other thoughts are flooding my mind today. WHY! WHY! WHY!
I wish I could have spoken to all of these and others. Life is beautiful, truly a blessing from God. Life at its worst…is worth living. Eternity comes soon enough! Enjoy the time that God has blessed you with. Troubles will come, and when they do…"Cast all your care upon God, for He care for you." (I Peter 5:7).
"When you try to do everything by yourself, you get to do everything by yourself." As children grow they always want to do things on their own. Eventually, one day, we all reach that point of being able to handle things on our own and all we really want is for someone to be there to help us. God will let us do things on our own if that is the way we want it but that is not the way He wants our relationship to be. God wants to be close to us and has created us to be close to Him. Today are we trying to come closer to God by talking to Him regularly, are we showing God that we want to be closer to Him by reading and studying His word? How close do I want my Father in Heaven to be? Well, how much time do I devote to being closer to Him in prayer and Bible study?
"But mostly, I cried because my life had been going full speed for so long and now it had just stopped, like running into a big brick wall, knocking the wind and the fight right out of me. And I didn't know if I'd ever even wanted to get up and start breathing again" Sarah Dessen. Sometimes unexpected adversities hit us square on and suddenly we are on the ground feeling sick. When we find ourself on the ground the easiest way to get back up is by getting on our knees. When pain cripples us God is listening. When loss overwhelms us God hears. When we have no where else to turn God does not abandon us He gives us strength to eventually stand at His side as we rely on Him.
What difference does Jesus make in our life? Does your wife see the love of Jesus for His bride in your eyes and actions? Can your husband see the patience and heart of a servant in your kind words and warm embrace? Do your parents, children, friends, and family see the joy of salvation through Christ flowing through your life? Christ impacts every single area of life. God help us today to fill our heart so much with the life of Jesus that those around us would see Christ in all that we do.
"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts. Filling your mind with the blessings God gives, recognizing the good things that your family has done, and looking forward to a great promise of an eternal life with God can change today from a gloomy day to a bright day with great potential.
Some people just have a great way with words. They can look you directly in the eyes and tell you what you are doing wrong and that you need to straighten up and you can't help but think that they really love you, even though you have really "messed things up this time." I envision Jesus as being this type of a person. John 8:1-11 reminds me of how careful Jesus was with His words. He was not afraid to tell someone that a change had to be made but at the same time He used words that built them up. He let them know that with His help they could overcome. Are we using our words to strengthen our wife, husband, kids, parents and many others? Are we willing to help them through trying times with prayer and service?