[Covenant for Life]

These are both from Small Straws in a Soft Wind daily devotionals by Marsha Burns.  I really needed to hear this today.  trust God.  His Word is truth.

March 21, 2012:  Trust Me to lift you up when you're down.  Believe that I am vitally interested in your life, and I see those things which concern you.  I am with you to help you get up and proceed on the path of life--eternal life and eternal joy.  It is My will to establish you in peace and strength.  Receive My help and rise up to a new level of confidence and faith that I will not leave you or forsake you.  You are precious to Me, says the Lord.  Be established in that truth.  Deuteronomy 31:8 "And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."
 
March 22, 2012:  This is a time when you have to continue to press through stubborn difficulties.  This is an opportunity to persevere and still stay strong in your faith.  It may seem like breakthrough will never come, but I'm telling you that it will.  Don't give up.  Continue to trust Me for the answer to your prayers.  I see what you're going through, and I hear you, says the Lord.  Be strong and courageous.  Isaiah 59:1  Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.

[Mitzpah]

March 22, 2012:  This is a time when you have to continue to press through stubborn difficulties.  This is an opportunity to persevere and still stay strong in your faith.  It may seem like breakthrough will never come, but I'm telling you that it will.  Don't give up.  Continue to trust Me for the answer to your prayers.  I see what you're going through, and I hear you, says the Lord.  Be strong and courageous.  Isaiah 59:1  Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.

Covenant for Life - Thank you! 

[Still]

Me, too! Some days are such an incredible struggle.

[Covenant for Life]

Another great devotional from Pastor Jeff Scheve!


I Still Do

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.   Genesis 2:24
   
A man in his twenties was talking to an older co-worker at the office and said, “Tomorrow is my fifth wedding anniversary.  I wonder what I should get my wife?”
 
The older man reminisced, “For my 25th wedding anniversary, I took my wife to France.” 

“Awesome! How will you celebrate your 50th?”
 
The older man replied, “I’m going back to get her.”

MARRIAGE WOES
 
That little joke sums up many marriages.  What started as an ideal, soon becomes an ordeal … and eventually both parties are longing for a new deal.  That is not what God intended when He created marriage.  On a scale of 1-10, God wants your marriage to be a 12!  He wants it off the charts great.
 
As I write this, it is my 26th wedding anniversary.  I can honestly say that Debbie and I are more in love now than we ever have been.  We are best friends and committed to one another through thick and thin.  Divorce is NOT an option.  I told Debbie early on, "If you ever leave me ... I'm going with you."  I praise God for all that he has done and is doing in our relationship.
 
While our marriage is definitely not perfect, there are some things we have learned that have really helped us work through problems so that we can enjoy a healthy, growing relationship.
 
1.     COMMUNICATION.  Closeness in marriage is dependent upon the ability to openly and honestly share your feelings.  Oftentimes, a husband will hurt his wife’s feelings and have little to no clue as to what he did.  She thinks he ought to know that his comment was rude, mean, and insensitive.  She says to herself, “He should know what he did.  I’m not going to tell him, I’m just going to wait for him to apologize.”
 
NEWSFLASH: He doesn’t know most of the time.  He doesn’t think or feel like you do.  He needs you to kindly, respectfully, and honestly tell him—spell it out for him—when he hurts your feelings.  I heard about a woman who had on her T-shirt, “All men are idiots, and I married their king.”  When it comes to men understanding women, that T-shirt is not too far off.  So wives, tells us.  Be specific and be timely.  We won’t really know otherwise.
 
And husbands … tell your wife when you feel shut out in the bedroom.  Let her know if       you feel rejected, unwanted, and undesirable to her.  She needs to know because she doesn’t think and feel like you do and won’t figure it out on her own.
     
2.     DISHONESTY.  Lies destroy trust.  If you are dishonest in your relationship (with finances, Facebook, or your hurts and struggles), you are setting fire to the foundation of trust.  Be honest and truthful with one another.  And always speak the truth in love.
       
3.     FAILING TO SEEK AND GRANT FORGIVENESS.  Forgiveness is a must in marriage.  If you hold on to hurts and refuse to forgive your spouse for things he/she did that hurt you, you set the stage for an ice-cold relationship where the poison of resentment and bitterness reigns.  Give all of those hurts to God so your heart does not sour toward your spouse. 
 
And, when you mess up, fess up.  Take full responsibility for your actions and inactions.  When you hurt your spouse’s feelings, humbly seek forgiveness.  Apologize from the heart and ask for forgiveness.  Remember, the greater the offense, the more time is needed for the rebuilding of trust.  Forgiveness can be granted immediately, but trust takes time to restore.

HOPE FOR YOU!
 
Maybe your marriage is in trouble today.  Don't despair!  If God can raise Lazarus from the dead, He can work a miracle in your marriage.  Enlist the help of a good Christian counselor and begin doing the things necessary to right the ship.
 
Think of your marriage this way: if you were 100 pounds overweight, you would not get slim and trim in a day, or a week, or even a month.  It takes time, effort, and consistency to drop 100 pounds.  And it takes time, effort, and consistency to go from a 2 to a 10 on the marriage scale.  It can and will happen, though, if both parties will commit themselves to the Lord and to the marriage.
 
God wants your marriage to be great.  When you are praying for a great marriage, you can be sure that you are praying according to His will (see 1 John 5:14-15).  So be encouraged.  He can do anything in the lives of people submitted to Him.

Love,


Jeff Schreve
Pastor

jeff@fromhisheart.org
1-877-777-6171

   

   

[xyzcf]

 

If God can raise Lazarus from the dead, He can work a miracle in your marriage.

This was in our church readings yesterday. 

[Standing in Patience]

Have faith as in the mustard seed. The mustard seed is very, very small. The same faith that moves mountains (frankly, I can't move very much - even a small filled box is hard for me).

So having faith is important. My faith has immeasurably increased since the beginning of this ordeal. Frankly, since many of us are in own, unique situations we each quietly work through each day. I expect that the times I encouraged my h to attend church was meant to plant the seed. Ultimately, he didn't want to continue to attend and stopped; the children also resisted. I think if he did continue the kids would have also. They often said, well if my father doesn't have to go, why should I?

My faith is quiet now and I lean on it everyday. No I haven't returned to going to church on any regular basis but instead I pray regular and fervently. I pray for my h and our marriage every day. I wish my h would open his eyes and heart.

[trusting]

Quote
If God can raise Lazarus from the dead, He can work a miracle in your marriage.
This was in our church readings yesterday. 

It was the sermon at my church this weekend too. 

[Covenant for Life]

This was also my church sermon yesterday!  Tears were streaming down my face as I listened.  Charlyne Cares often uses this miracle story in devotionals, too.  God can do anything.  Nothing is too difficult for our Lord.

[OldPilot]

  And it takes time, effort, and consistency to go from a 2 to a 10 on the marriage scale.
 It can and will happen, though, if both parties will commit themselves to the Lord and to the marriage.

Right now most of us only have ONE party.
We must LET GO until we have BOTH.

[Covenant for Life]

True OP.

But a marriage is a three cord covenant and God along with us outnumber the devil that has invaded our spouse's hard heart.  We know that our prayers are being heard and that our prayers are indeed in line with God's will.  God is for covenant marriage and for families.  Covenant Marriage is the bedrock of his creation here on Earth and no devil in Hell has more power than our God does.  God gets the victory in the end, no matter how long we wait on Him.