We first became aware that our marriage was an open book in 1987 (we had
been married for 15 years at the time) when it was announced to our church that we were moving to a distant city to start a new ministry. A young couple came up to us afterward and told us that they had been secretly watching us interact as a couple for a long time. They expressed that they wanted their marriage to be like ours. Their statement astounded us. First, we weren't even aware anyone was watching us. But then we realized the good and the bad of the situation -- good, that they were obviously inspired by what they observed. But what if we had interacted negatively and in unkind ways toward one another? We might never have known that either. It brought into focus what it says in the Bible in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, "Live worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory." It begs us to consider the question, "What do people think of God when they watch us in our marriages?" We don't have a choice whether our marriages will be an open book or not because no matter how much we try to hide who we are behind closed doors because someone, somewhere, will eventually read your marriage book. Is it a worthy read? The truth is you may never know who has been reading your marriage book. You can be sure your children are --every day. But it's also the neighbors, friends, relatives, people you work with, and even complete strangers. There was an article presented in "Marriage Partnership Magazine" featuring an interview with Ravi Zacharias and his wife, Margie. Ravi is a renowned author, speaker and apologist. He and Margie also believe very strongly that "marriage has the power to change the world for the better." They're convinced that God created marriage, in large part, as a base for ministering to others. And they don't let those of us who feel called to teaching, computer programming, construction, parenthood, etc. off the hook either. Talk to the Zacharias', and they'll tell you we're ALL called to show God's love to those around us. Ravi is the author of numerous books, including "Can Man Live Without God" and "Deliver Us From Evil." He defends the reasonableness of the Christian faith, but also stresses the peace and healing that comes only from God. Here's how Ravi and Margie, in their own words, have incorporated this same mission into their life as a married couple: RAVI: “If our marriage speaks to people, it is our prayer that it is because it is a Christian marriage, not that it is inter-cultural. A couple’s home should convey peace to people when they come in. And where people sense that harmony, they will seek your feedback, even in subtle ways. People have come to the Lord in our home. One was a Hindu couple. I would love to think that happened because they sensed God in our home and in our marriage. MARGIE: “One of the most fulfilling comments that could be made about any home is that it is a place of peace. And not only can friends sense this, but also trades people, real estate agents—anyone who has a reason to be there should be able to sense the difference in a Christian home. QUESTION: “Think about it: God’s peace seems intangible. How do you establish it in your home? RAVI: “Peace starts with the discipline of respecting your fellow human beings. Be kind to whomever you talk to, and gentle and gracious in what you’re saying. I have always marveled why anybody would be unkind. I’m not kind to Margie because she’s my wife, I’m kind to her, first of all, because she’s a person. I see people at an airline counter screaming at a flight attendant because the plane is late, as if she had responsibility for it. Think of the peace that is lost. “Added to that is the love of Christ, which gives breadth to our kindness. When the love of Christ is in your heart, you’re accountable to him for your actions toward others. Christ sheds his love in your heart, and all the more you need to share it with others. QUESTION: “Is there something implicit in marriage that shows people how God wants us to live? RAVI: “Marriage is the one human relationship that reflects the covenant relationship between God and his people. MARGIE: “Marriage, the way God designed it, is meant to point people to God. The family is God’s laboratory where his grace and provision are put to the test. It greatly concerns me that so many Christian marriages have fallen so short of what God intended for marriage. We can never impact our society for God if, in our own families, we can’t show the love of Christ. RAVI: “Marriage is the first human relationship God instituted. Before we were ever parents, we were a couple. Adam and Eve had no earthly parents. Their allegiance was first to God and then to each other, under God. That is why the wedding vows are so sacred—they are rooted in God’s first gift to humanity, a pure love, an exclusive love, an abiding love. In our society of broken homes, where can people turn to see the reality of God’s love if not to a Christian home? “What they see demonstrated there should show them that it will take more than human love to repair their own lives. Christian couples, in the honor and respect they give to one another, can have the privilege of showing God’s power at work in a relationship.” John 8:11 … “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” When Jesus was on earth, a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Him by the scribes and Pharisees, the religious mafia of His day. They tried to trap Him by posing a question that was difficult to answer: “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:5) Jesus answered, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7) The scribes and Pharisees began to leave one by one till none of them were left. The people in the crowd who wanted to condemn the woman could not. But Jesus, the only one in the crowd who truly had the power to condemn her, would not. He then asked her, “Woman…Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10) He spoke such words of grace to her because He loved her. Also, by asking her the question, He was giving her a chance to speak words of no condemnation to herself—“No one [condemns me], Lord.” (John 8:11) Jesus not only spoke words of grace to her, He also gave her the gift of no condemnation—“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”. It was when she received the gift of no condemnation that she had the power to “go and sin no more”. Today, you have the gift of no condemnation because the Son of God was condemned for all your sins. (Romans 8:1) Today, God cannot condemn you when you sin because He is faithful and just to what His Son has done. So if the devil tries to convince you that God is angry with you when you blow it, just say, “God does not condemn me today because He has already condemned Jesus at the cross 2,000 years ago!” Unfortunately, we still hear people saying, “Go and sin no more first, then I won’t condemn you.” Maybe you have been saying this to yourself too. But God says, “I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more.” He gives you the gift of no condemnation, so that you have the strength to go and sin no more! God did what we wouldn’t dare dream. He did what we could not imagine. He
became a man so we could trust him. He became a sacrifice so we could know him. And he defeated death so we could follow him. It defies logic. It’s a divine insanity. A holy incredibility. Only a God beyond systems and common sense could create a plan as absurd as this. Yet, it’s the very impossibility of it all that makes it possible. The wildness of the story is its strongest witness. For only a God could create a plan this mad. Only a Creator beyond the fence of logic could offer such a gift of love. What man cannot do, God does. When it comes to eternity, forgiveness, purpose, and truth, go to the manger, kneel with the shepherds. Worship the God who dared to do what man dared not dream! From And the Angels Were Silent Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:26
Consider the earth! Our globe's weight has been estimated at six sextillion tons (a six with twenty-one zeroes). Yet it is precisely tilted at twenty-three degrees; any more or any less and our seasons would be lost in a melted polar flood. Though our globe revolves at the rate of one-thousand miles per hour or twenty-five thousand miles per day or nine million miles per year, none of us tumbles into orbit… As you stand … observing God's workshop, let me pose a few questions. If he is able to place the stars in their sockets and suspend the sky like a curtain, do you think it is remotely possible that God is able to guide your life? If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that he is mighty enough to light your path? If he cares enough about the planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside chance that he cares enough about you to meet your needs? The Great House of God (Max Lucado) Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human
standards... But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 Our clothes may make us look silly, but they cannot cause us to do really silly things. Pride can cause us to do sad things - like divide a community. Paul proclaimed that the power of the cross of Christ leads people to God - not human wisdom. None of us can boast in God's eyes, says Paul. We are all sinners saved by grace. "For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom," he writes, "God decided through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe." Paul is dealing with the root cause of division in our faith community, pride. Notice, however, he deals not with their sense of pride, but with their sense of inadequacy and weakness. If there is anything more deadly than pride, it is the feeling that we don't count. "Consider your own call," he says to them, "not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, and not many were of noble birth." By the world's measure of success the Corinthian congregation was not a promising lot. But God saw what the world could not see. Have you ever noticed that some rather ordinary people sometimes achieve extraordinary success? We may be ordinary, but God has a plan for us “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37, NIV) In scripture, Paul went through hard times. How did he come through? He wasn’t complaining, living in self-pity or despair. No, he shook off that defeated mindset and chose to have a vision of victory. This is what we have to do, too! Remember, you’re not a weakling. You’re not lacking. The most powerful force in the universe is breathing in your direction. Every morning you need to remind yourself, “I am ready for and equal to anything that comes my way. I am full of can-do power.” Listen, that sickness is no match for you. That relationship issue is not going to keep you from your destiny. The loss of that loved one did not stop God’s plan for your life. Don’t let it overwhelm you. You can handle it. You’ve been armed with strength! Keep a victor’s mentality because a victor’s mentality becomes a victor’s reality! Father, thank You for the victory that overcomes the world — faith in Jesus Christ. Today I choose to trust You. I stand on Your promises and choose to live with a victor’s mentality in Jesus’ name! Amen. — Joel & Victoria Osteen Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and tither and tossed by the wind. JAMES 1 : 6
UNLOCK YOUR BOX OF DOUBTS .. GOD IS YOUR SECURITY SYSTEM When you know and believe, without question or doubt, that in all that you do God is there to help out, you hold in your hand the golden key to peace, joy and serenity. In Jesus Name, AMEN! We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he listens to anyone who worships and obeys him. John 9:31
Most of our prayer lives could use a tune-up. Some prayer lives lack consistency. They're either a desert or an oasis. Long, arid, dry spells interrupted by brief plunges into the waters of communion…Others of us need sincerity. Our prayers are a bit hollow, memorized, and rigid. More liturgy than life. And though they are daily, they are dull. Still others lack, well, honesty. We honestly wonder if prayer makes a difference. Why on earth would God in heaven want to talk to me? If God knows all, who am I to tell him anything? If God controls all, who am I to do anything? … Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference. He Still Moves Stones (Max Lucado) "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20
Life is full of surprises. Remember his parting words to his disciples? I am with you always! I'm sure that was a surprise to the disciples who had been through so much with Jesus death and resurrection. Jesus' body may be absent from us, but we know the Holy Spirit within. And that's why we're here today. God renews His promises with us again and again. I am the Lord your God!! I'll be there for you! I make promises and I keep them! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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