JACKS DAILY DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
(Lamentations 1:12) "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?"
The longer I serve Him… the more grateful I am for the sacrifice of Christ… and the extent to which our great God and Creator, Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ, who went to the cross in obedience to the Fathers will… too provide this wonderful life of salvation that we enjoy as believers and followers of Christ.
I honestly do not know why people in general cannot come to the point of faith and thankfulness to Him for His free gift of salvation… a free gift given to every one of us… a gift received by choice (our choice) a gift that allows humanity (you and I), to enjoy a life of freedom and a life abundant, for now as well as in the age to come.
(John 10:10) (For I am come that you might have life and that more abundantly”
I said it’s a free gift and its attained by choice!
That’s all simple trust and faith and obedience.
(John 3:16-19) “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in Him (in Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
This is the verdict… Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil”.
With out any demands other than we simply believe in Jesus Christ… and that we receive the light and reject the darkness.
I wonder, do you and I, or the rest of the world even understand the cost… the agony…. the pain that God Himself went thru to allow His own Son to hang on that cross… to be crucified… and there by, “pay the price” for yours and mine, our redemption?
You've probably heard or read this story in the past, but it illustrates so vividly the cost of Gods love for us… a love given so that we could have a right standing with God the Creator, free from the guilt, condemnation, judgment and penalty of sin… for with out the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22-23)
This story is a poignant example of the sacrifice that God made for you and I.
John Griffin, who controlled a railway drawbridge over the Mississippi River, took his young son to work with him one day.
After putting the massive drawbridge up, Griffin was eating lunch when suddenly he heard the whistle of the Memphis Express roaring toward the crossing.
Leaping from the observation deck he ran to throw the control switch.
Glancing down, his heart stopped!
His son had fallen into the gears, trapping his leg in the cogs.
Desperately he tried to devise a rescue plan, but there was no time.
His son was down there… but there were four hundred passengers on the train!
Griffin knew what he had to do.
Burying his face in his arm, he pushed the master switch just in time to lower the bridge into place as the train thundered across.
Then raising his head he looked into the passing windows with tear-filled eyes.
There were businessmen casually reading the newspaper, ladies sipping coffee, and children eating ice cream.
Nobody even looked at the control house or glanced down at the great gearbox.
In agony Griffin cried out, “I sacrificed my son for you people, doesn’t any of you care?”
But as the train rushed by, nobody heard the anguished father’s words.
O my friend… lets not forget what God did for each of us, and lets continue to consider and remember the cross where God allowed His Son to be sacrificed so that we might live.
Like John Griffin, God is asking, “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?”
The question then becomes, “What…shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22)
There is only one right answer to that question… “Today, accept Christ as your savior, your ransom, your deliverer, your salvation".
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:32)
Good Day!
(1st John 3:2) "We shall be like him."
I am thinking and praying this morning for the many people in my little piece of the world who are struggling with their bodies for whatever reason that might be.
Let every parent of a disabled child write these words on the bedroom wall.
Let the debilitated, infected, bedridden, and paralyzed put themselves to sleep with the promise that one day soon “We shall be like Him.”
Let amputees and the atrophied take this promise to heart, one day soon “We shall be like Him.”
Let those who's bodies are not working as they were created to, hold to this promise and hope, that one day soon "we shall be like Him".
Lately we have experienced the news that several of our family… and several of our friends are experiencing a breakdown in their bodies.
Several of them have left this world and gone home to be Jesus… while several more are laying in hospital recovery rooms under medical treatment to help relieve the medical issues they are facing with bodies that are failing them.
But friend of mine I need to tell you one more time that there is hope in the midst of these trials and afflictions.
One day we shall graduate from this version of life into His likeness.
Here’s what the bible says is going to happen when He comes again the
second time and we are called to me Him in the clouds of the air, and we experience our “resurrection… or “catching away” so that we will ever be with the Lord.
The bible says there will be no sickness, no dying, but we will be changed…
In our society today there is way to much focus on our bodies and how they look to the world around us.
Billions of dollars are spent each year on body augmentation, sculpturing, and beauty aids.
You can't sit down to watch a television program or surf the internet with out being inundated by commercials and ads that want to sell you body building equipment, diet foods and diet pills and a variety of supplements to help you cope with the changes that we are facing in our bodies.
But truly to what end and purpose?
Ultimately these bodies we live in are going to age and die.
And then, we will be changed we will have a spiritual body.
In our current state, our "un-regenerated flesh" battles our "regenerated spirit".
Our eyes look where they shouldn’t.
Our taste buds desire the wrong things.
Our heart knows we shouldn’t be anxious, but our mind still worries.
Hear what Paul says about these bodies that we are so infatuated with.
(Romans 7:22-23) “I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me (my body) covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge” (from The Message Bible)
In heaven, our “parts” will no longer rebel.
Your new body will be a spiritual body, with every part cooperating toward one end.
Joni Eareckson Tada, who has been confined to a wheelchair since age 17, says, “I can’t wait to be clothed in righteousness, with a new body… without a trace of sin.
True, it will be wonderful to stand, stretch, and reach to the sky, with a body that feels no pain or physical hindrances… but it will be more wonderful to offer praise that’s pure from the distractions of the body.
I won’t be crippled by those distractions, disabled by pain.
I won’t be handicapped by half heartedness or discouragement.
My heart will join with others and bubble over with effervescent adoration.
We’ll finally be able to fellowship fully with the Father and the Son.
For me, this will be the best part of heaven”.
So lets start taking the focus off of our "sinful fleshly bodies" and put the focus where it belongs, "on our inner man"… lets work on our “inner man”
that part of us that truly is us… and prepare it for our new bodies.
For those who are struggling with sickness and disease remember that one day soon “we shall be like Him.”
Let that be your focus!
Strengthen and encourage your self today with this thought and this hope.
The rapture is coming… soon the church (which includes you and I)… will be caught up and away to be with Jesus… and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
From (1st Corinthians 15:50-58) I find my great hope…
“I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Listen, I tell you a mystery… We will not all sleep (or die), but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, the dead (our bodies)… will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable (our bodies)… must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
When the perishable (our bodies) has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal (our bodies) with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true… “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law…. but thanks be to God… He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.
Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Good Day!
(Psalm 34:19-20) “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all”
The bible tells us that the most righteous person to walk the earth… (his name was Job)… endured an astronomical amount of affliction.
Christ, the Son of God… endured severe pain both physically and emotionally.
The Bible say’s that “Jesus wept” (John 11:35)
He was betrayed, beaten, mocked, and tortured as He faithfully walked out “the will of the Father” by dying on the cross.
Sacrificially, and once for all humanity… God’s only Son made a way for us to escape the deadly consequences of sin in this world… but it requires suffering and affliction.
There is no greater love than His love for humanity.
But if God’s Son suffered affliction, Christ-followers can expect nothing less.
Though joy, blessing, and peace are very much a part of our everyday lives in Christ… “affliction” is an ever-present problem for each of us as well.
But because of the cross, and Jesus example, there is hope even in suffering.
Jesus said, “in this world you will have trouble, but I have over come the world. (John 16:33)
The dictionary describes affliction as “a state of pain, distress, grief or misery which is described as a cause of mental or bodily pain, as sickness, loss, calamity, or persecution.”
In (1st Samuel 13:22) God said that King David was “a man after mine own heart”, but even David was not exempt from certain forms of affliction, and was very familiar with trying times and difficult circumstances.
As a young man serving in the palace, King Saul (because of jealousy) wanted him killed, and while escaping the king’s jealousy and rage, David narrowly escaped death several times.
Before he came to the throne, every time he turned around it seemed that David was faced with affliction both emotionally and physically as well.
And it was while hiding in a cave on the run from King Saul that David penned this Psalm.
“Although both the righteous and the wicked have troubles, the outcome of their circumstances is different because of their different relationships with the Lord,” (Psalm 34:19-22)
We need to understand and know that God knows and sees everything, and is concerned for the good of those who love Him.
David… the same man God choose to be Saul’s successor, often had to run for his life.
David who defeated Goliath and was anointed of God, made King of Israel, a man after Gods own heart… also experienced emotional pain, injustice, and unfairness of life just as you and I often experience it in this life as well.
We are not promised that it will be easy to follow Jesus… but we are promised that He will be with us in trouble and with long life He will satisfy us. (Psalm 91:16)
Jesus suffered great affliction while here on earth.
He knowingly accepted the walk to the cross and everything that came with it… and on the way to the cross, He cried in the garden to His Father in heaven over it begging “if possible, let this cup pass from me!
Jesus is our model for understanding suffering and righteousness… and within the comforting pages of Gods word we are taught that God often allows believers to suffer so that they become more like Jesus in their character, and so that we can connect with others in the midst of their suffering as well.
In our weakest moments, when our anguish and affliction are too much to bare, Jesus meets us in the midst of our suffering on a personal level.
When David describes believers as the “brokenhearted and the crushed in spirit”… he is not referring to depression or despair in the context… but rather it is intended to describe the believers “ongoing attitude” of repentance and humility before God.
We have a very real enemy, who the Bible reminds us aims to “kill, steal, and destroy.”
But Jesus came to give us life to the full. (John 10:10)
It’s not easy, but life isn’t a downer following Jesus.
The joy and peace we have in Him sustains us through every trial, supernaturally.
Faith isn’t a false sense of being okay when we’re not, but a faithful trust in who God is… and whose we are… even in the midst of and through all of the hard issues of life.
Verses 11-22 of Psalm 34 were written by David to teach the strength and the victory that awaits those whom will put their faith and their trust in the Lord.
“Come, my children, listen to me;” the Psalm reads, “ I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”
David took the opportunity to leave a legacy of wisdom for the next generation, testifying to God’s goodness.
“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies,” David wrote, “turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:13-14).
The way David describes God to the youth of his nation reflects the personal relationship he had with Him: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles”.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-18).
We prepare our children and others in this life by speaking these words of wisdom to them because we know how hard life can be, and how good and faithful our God is through it all.
“The Lord is the unfailing deliverer of the righteous, and he holds the wicked accountable for their hostility toward the righteous.”
In the Old Testament affliction was often related to an outward sign of sin, but David’s experience with Saul shows even the righteous can experience affliction at the hand of someone else’s sin.
Sin permeates the world, and therefore so does injustice, pain, heartbreak, sadness, sickness, and death.
Jesus came into the world and sacrificed His life “once” for all, to replace the penalty of death for sin with forgiveness, mercy, grace deliverance and salvation.
He saved us.
But it’s our choice to believe in Jesus and follow Him.
It’s our decision to accept the free gift of salvation in Christ.
But even when we follow Christ faithfully, our own sin and the sins of others interferes and wars against our lives, and wreaks all kinds of havoc.
The world is harsh, cruel, and full of pain and injustice.
In (Matthew 5:33) Jesus said “the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous”, meaning that we are not exempt from the afflictions of this life.
Everyday we experience sickness, sadness, heartbreak and death.
In Jesus, we have a friend who has endured affliction, and understands and empathizes with us according to (Hebrews 4:15)
Affliction can be a hard subject to reconcile to our good God, but He isn’t afraid of our questions, or our anger on account of our circumstances or those of others.
We are welcome to bring any and all of our afflictions to the feet of our Father in heaven who hears us, sees us, understands us in the midst of it all, comforts and consoles us.
His love for us cannot be outdone or undone.
He is faithful, He is good, and He is as close as the mention of His name.
He invites all those who whom are tired, weary and worn out from the struggles of this life with this personal invitation to all,
“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest for your soul (Matthew 11:28)
Good Day!
(James 4:1-3) “Where do wars and fights come from among you?
James asks us; “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the desires that battle within you?
You desire but do not have, so you kill.
You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
You do not have because you do not ask God.
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
Today I want to discuss with you the number one reason for unanswered prayers in our lives.
What did James mean when he said, “you have not because you ask not, and when you do ask, you don’t receive because you ask amiss, or with the wrong motives”.
The main reason we experience unanswered prayers is because of wrong motives and wrong focus.
The biggest reason we don’t experience answered prayers is because we are usually asking to satisfy our own desires and pleasures.
And that is because we have the wrong focus in life!
We don’t have because we don’t abide in Jesus… and we aren’t focused on the Kingdom of God and His plan for your life.
Don’t get me wrong… It’s okay for us to ask God for things, but we need to remember the motives behind what we are asking for.
Motivation is what pushes us to accomplish various things in life, but sometimes we are motivated by and for the wrong reasons.
And in most cases, we are motivated by pride and selfishness, looking only for our own satisfaction with little regard for the Kingdom of God and the people that He wants us to be an influence to!
When we want something badly, we will do almost anything to satisfy our desire.
But what if what we seek, is not from a healthy place in our hearts?
(Proverbs 16:2) “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.”
Pride and jealousy are negative motivators that entrap our minds to seek out our own desires, which are often contrary to the will of God.
Unfortunately most of us ask for things out of selfishness and pride!
(1st John 2:15-17) tells us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life… is not of the Father but is of the world”.
Unfortunately all of us are motivated by “the lust of the eyes”!
We want what we see and therefore think that’s what we need… and unfortunately most people have their affections (or their eyes) set upon the things of this world and not on the Kingdom of God.
We are all tempted and enticed into actions that we know deep down aren’t necessary or right.
(Proverbs 29:23) states, “A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.”
(Matthew 7:7) states, “Ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Let me ask you, have you truly been seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness?
(Matthew 6:33) says “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”!
Jesus taught in (John 15:1-8). “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser… If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Did you get that?
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”.
That’s how you get prayers answered… by abiding in the vine!
If you are seeking things in your own strength and your own desires, then you are not abiding in and with Jesus.
The exact definition of "abide" is to remain, continue, and stay.
So, if we are asking God for a thing while not abiding in Him, and we are continually living for ourselves… we should not expect to receive answers to the things we want, because we are asking to satisfy our own selfish desires and pleasures.
We have not because we don’t abide in Jesus… because we decided to take control and go down our own path.
We lust and strive after things of this world because of jealousy and pride.
So, let me encourage you today to revaluate your motivation in life.
Start with Gods help to abide, to be conscious of, to dwell and to reside as much as possible in His presence motivated by love for Him.
Begin studying His word as if it’s the only reliable source of information for your life, and begin applying it to your life?
Let us give our pride, our willfulness, our selfishness, our desires, and our motives over to God… so that He can show us exactly what we need according to His plan for each of us.
In reality, all we need is God and when we surrender our will to Him we do not need anything else for God knows our needs, and He is faithful to give us what we need, especially when we come into agreement with Him.
It’s okay to ask God for things… but remember the motives behind what you are asking for.
Good day!
(2nd Corinthians 5:1) “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body)… we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands”
For several weeks now I have been teaching on my Sunday “Cowboy Church Live Stream” concerning what happens when we die.
I have been doing so because almost every day, or every other day I find I am talking to people about a death that has occurred in their immediate circle of relationships… and so I have felt inspired to help clarify what is going to happen when we die, so that people are not so confused deceived or terrified.
Every time you attend a funeral or memorial service, you are merely viewing the physical remains of the deceased individual.
You are seeing only the body, which is decaying and decomposing.
You are not viewing the person… only the outer “shell.”
Regardless of how we refer to the remains, whether they are slumbering, at rest, at peace, or how “natural” he or she may look, we are looking at that which is going to be changed and glorified, renewed so that the body can endure eternity.
For the Believer in Christ, the “soul or spirit”, that invisible part of the Christian, has departed to be in the presence of the Lord.
What you are seeing before you is the external “suit of clothes” or, as Paul wrote, the “house” which is “torn down” (2nd Corinthians 5:1)
A funeral service provides us a time to give God thanks for the memory of the person… and for the fact that that body will be raised some day in the future.
One of my favourite lines that I often state once the funeral party gathers at the grave site, is related to that future day when the dead will be raised.
There will be a time when the graves will be opened, and the bodies will be removed in a glorified state to be forever with the Lord Jesus.
Plain and simple, the Christian has no reason to fear death since the future is so full of promised hope and happiness as outlined in the teachings of Jesus and then endorsed by the Apostle Paul through out the New Testament.
(2nd Corinthians 5:5-8) is the great and confident hope of the believer in Christ.
“Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Holy Spirit as a pledge.
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by sight… we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord”.
Contrary to most peoples thinking we are not moving from the land of the living to the land of the dead… but we are moving from being dead in our trespasses and sins… to being raised alive in and to eternal life in Christ (Ephesians 1:1-2)
As I said, this is the great hope and confidence of the believer in Christ.
For those that choose to reject Gods offer of forgiveness and redemption thru the work of Christ on the cross… well, there is a different destination for you.
If you get the chance maybe try to catch our Cowboy Church Live stream this morning at 10:00 Pacific Standard Time.
I am completing my series on “What happens when we die” and it would be good for you to hear what the word of God has to say concerning those whom reject Christ in this life and die with out the great assurance given to the believer.
God loves you my friend… He is not willing that any should perish and live in an eternity without Him… but the choice is yours.
Give me a call or contact me if you need to know more about having a secure place in Heaven after you die… believe me the alternative is very disconcerting!
Good Day!
(Ecclesiastes 9:9) "Live joyfully with the wife whom you love."
Our new age American culture fosters “discontentment” and all the miseries and heartaches that go along with it.
“Discontentment” is coveting what we do not have.
Longing for it, believing that if we have it, then we will be satisfied.
To be content is to obey the 10th commandment “You shall not covet”, in the power of Christ and the gospel of grace.
Unfortunately discontentment has become a disease attacking the marriages of the 21st century.
Our live fast love hard die young philosophy of living has brought about a an acceptance of indiscretionary relationships… that have left people jaded and discontent with the spouses and the relationships that they have carelessly and haphazardly entered into.
How ever let me say that God is big enough, powerful enough, to intervene in your life and “make all things new” (Revelation 21:5)
There was something that ignited between you and your current spouse that attracted the two of you to begin a relationship.
Remember what that was and take it before God and ask him to re-ignite it for you.
Ask God to help you remember what that “accelerant” was that caused the two of you to come together and begin to walk together.
Use it once again as the starting point to build on, with God leading the way, your hand in His.
God said, “it is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18)
God wants you to enjoy life with your current spouse… not run off and jump into another relationship that has no promise of satisfaction.
I want to challenge you today to “man up” “step up” and be brave enough to “work on and at” the relationship you have entered into already and don’t allow discontentment to interfere with the “potential” that is right before you.
The word potential, generally refers to a currently “unrealized ability”.
Aristotle wrote, “that which is potential, can theoretically be made actual by taking the right action”
Three things can happen with the relationship you are involved in today that has the potential of being the answer to what you are looking for in a relationship.
But you have to take the right action.
And the first thing you need to do is over come “discontentment”.
We only become “discontent” when we start comparing things we are discontented about with things that we don’t have, those things that “seem” to look and be better than what we have.
That’s one of the reasons John writes “love not the world nor the things of the world” (1st John 2:15-17)
The world only “seems” to have something better… it only “seems” to offer alternatives that will make you happy.
That’s why it is so important for men, and especially husbands to stay away from pornography.
Those images will creep into your mind and the enemy of your soul will keep feeding them until discontentment with the wife you have takes control of you and you begin to desire and covet that which pornography says is available and you should enjoy it.
The truth is that it is a lie from the enemy of your soul.
Three things happen in a marriage that cannot happen anywhere else.
And there is a distinct possibility that God wants to use the current relationship/marriage you are in, to teach you three jewels only found in a marriage relationship.
#1) You get to know yourself.
To grow, you must be able to look at yourself realistically, and the best place to do that is in a marriage relationship.
It causes us to see things about ourselves we never seen before.
It forces us to analyze, and examine ourselves and who and what we are.
In a sense it forces us to grow up and mature.
It lets you be open about your mistakes and shortcomings.
It’s a safe place to fail.
It creates a listening environment where we can find understanding and support.
Its true that the people closest to us influence us, develop us and form us.
When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, she was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?”
She replied, “Go home and love your family.”
If you want to change your world, start at home.
#(2) You get to know your character.
A Christ-centered home not only helps form your children’s character, it strengthens yours too.
Character is built on the choices you make and habits you cultivate.
And since your family creates your primary environment, it influences those choices and habits.
Strong families encourage us to make good choices, develop the right disciplines, and pay the price today for success tomorrow.
#(3) You have a safe haven.
It seems like the pace of life gets more hectic every day.
Driving on overcrowded roads is stressful.
The workplace is demanding.
The schoolyard is an increasingly hostile environment.
Where can you find shelter?
If not at home, then probably nowhere!
Theodore Roosevelt said, “I’d rather spend time with my family than with any of the world’s notables.”
His home was his safe haven in the midst of life’s storms… and yours can be too.
The question is… what are you doing to make it that way?
Good Day!
(Proverbs 18:22) "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord."
If you’re over sixty, chances are you grew up in an era where you didn’t know too many divorced couples and the subject was taboo.
But in todays society your children are growing up in a world where divorce is common and marriages fail every day.
If you don’t want yours to be one of them, start practicing these next three principles.
1) Learn to show your love.
Psychologist William James said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
If we don’t feel appreciated at home, there’s a good chance we won’t feel appreciated at all, because generally speaking, the world doesn’t fulfill that desire.
The best thing you can do for your spouse and your children is appreciate them and love them... not based on their performance, but simply because they’re yours.
(2) Pay attention.
Reverend Theodore Hesburgh, President of the University of Notre Dame, said, “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
And that works both ways.
A successful marriage is one that can go from crisis to crisis and keep getting stronger.
“Commitment”, not emotion, is what carries you through.
If you only intend to stay married as long as you “feel” like you’re in love, you might as well quit now.
Like anything worthwhile, a good marriage requires constant attention, respect for each other, and “continued cultivation”.
Never forget that in your “courting days”, your partner was attracted to you because you “courted” each other, you pursued each other, you preferred each other, you held/viewed each other with respect and honor.
You each became a “priority” to each other.
Never let go of that, and if you have, then start again with renewed determination and purpose to pay attention to each other!
(3) Protect your time together.
One of the great devices that the “enemy” of our soul, (satan), uses to destroy our lives is that of “busyness”.
Husbands are working two jobs to pay the bills, and in most cases that means that the wife is working a job some where as well.
When they get home one has to deliver the kids to baseball practice, while the other has to be at the church or at some community event as a volunteer.
The family is split running in different directions and when the day is done they all fall into bed exhausted from the day’s efforts and it all starts over again the next morning.
Running here, running there.
Busy, busy, busy with out any quality time together to encourage one another, to delight your selves in one another, to enjoy one another, to work out “issues”.
Before long you’ve both become strangers and your marriage suffers as a result of it.
If you feel like you ought to be at work, or at some event or some other place when you’re with your family or your spouse, then something’s wrong.
Wake up and realize that there is a problem to be addressed, worked out and overcome.
Never ever feel like your family, or time together with them is a problem or an inconvenience.
They are your priority! They are you first focus! They are more important than any thing else in the world.
It’s time to call a “family conference”, and agree on the need to spend time together and how you can “accomplish it together”, despite the demands placed upon all of you.
God gave you your marriage and your family to be a “haven of rest” for all of you.
A place where you can come in from the cold winds of the worlds adversity and busyness, to rest and find encouragement, comfort, love and respect from and for one another.
To fulfill the emotional needs we all have, that can only be filled by those that we love and whom love us.
If you prioritize and protect those times, your marriage will thrive.
And you will find and obtain “favor” with God.
(Proverbs 18:22) "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord."
Good Day!