Looking to Man instead of GOD

Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 5:8-10

Today I was reminded of how truly fallible I am. Most of my life I jumped from relationship to relationship. I had envisioned a perfect partner for me and thought that if I found a man who had most of the qualities I could change the rest of him to be my idea of perfect for me. Every time I tried to do this I failed.

I had finally realized after many years that I could be happy to live my life without a man. I was content raising my children, going to work, and planning a life for after my children were raised. I had GOD in my life but I wasn't serving him.

Then an amazing man walked into my life. He was exactly what I was looking for; handsome, hard working, affectionate, stable, and he loved me as much as I loved him. We married and I thought everything was perfect. The problem was he didn't have Christ in his heart. Whenever a storm would come he would falter. In fact it wasn't just that he didn't have Christ in his heart, he hated GOD "If there was a GOD, I'd punch him in his face for taking my parents away."

This hatred slowly began to poison our relationship. I began to feel hatred toward the things he hated. I let his hatred seep into me.

GOD gives us wake up calls. I became sick and my mother came to aid me. She saw the emotional sickness and began visiting a church nearby my home. Her love spread to me and I realized that I was looking to my husband for support when I should have been looking to GOD.

Being married to a partner who does not share the same faith as you is very hard.  GOD wants your spouse to come to HIM in HIS time, not ours.  We can not just stand by and wait for our loved one to change.  We need to continue worshiping and praising GOD.  GOD is jealous and wants to know we put HIM above all others.  Our unsaved loved ones may be a test of GOD on us.  Will we pass the test, or will we falter and show our human fallibility, rather than allowing GOD to take control over our actions and emotions?  We must keep our eyes on GOD and allow GOD to take the reigns concerning others in our lives.

 

 

 

Which person are you?

Daily Reading: Matthew 25:31-46


I was recently in a restaurant just off an major interstate. Just after ordering a woman and two small girls came in. They explained that a 4 year old from Missouri had been kidnapped by a stranger and they asked if they could hang the missing persons sign up at the restraunt since it was so close to the interstate. Maybe someone getting off the interstate there would have saw the missing child. The woman explained that she didn't know the child but since she was travelling up the interstate she had volunteered to stop at every major exit along the way and post the flyers. The person at the counter said yes & that they would hang up the flyer. After the lady left I kept waiting for the employees to hang up the sign so I could see what the girl looked like and see if I had recognized her as I had been coming from the opposite direction. The sign was never hung up and instead of asking about it I said a prayer and went on my way. Fortunately the child was found later unharmed and the man that had kidnapped her (a complete stranger) committed suicide in front of police.


Which person are you today? Are you the woman helping a complete stranger by doing what she can. Are you the employee who says "yes" but goes no further. Are you the lost girl who hopes someone will find her and take her home? Are you me wanting to help but decide that prayer is sufficient? Are you the man who has sinned and has condemned himself to death? Or are you the police officers that went the extra mile to find the little girl and save her?


Father GOD, please help me to go all out for you and your lost sheep. Give me strength to stand for you and help others to find their way to you. In JESUS name I pray, AMEN.


Matthew 25:40 "The KING will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


Need More? Visit Matthew 25:14-30

Lean on ME

Daily Reading: Genesis 2:18-24

So many people in this world believe they can do everything themselves. Many people try to do it all. They go to work, keep their homes cleaned, raise children, balance their budgets, are active in their communities and children's schools, go to church and in all of this they do it on their own never asking anyone else for help. Further still we take on more duties than we can typically handle. Through idealization we believe that we are supposed to do it all on our own.

As a teenager and young woman my favorite passage in the bible was The Wife of Noble Character (Proverbs 31:10-31). I thought not only that I could do it all, I thought I was supposed to do it all. It never occured to me that if I did it all I wasn't allowing room to rely on anyone else.

God never meant for us to be alone. We are meant to have a mate and share our responsibilities with our mate. Even when we are single we are still not expected to do it all. The bible says we are to care for our widows and orphans. An orphan was considered to be anyone who did not have both parents.

Our world has changed greatly in the past 2000 years when it comes to families but the fact remains that if we need help we need to ask for it. We can not hint about our needs because no one can read our minds as much as we would like for them to. We need to find humility when we can't get past an obstacle and ask others for help.

Further still we need to rely on GOD to help us. GOD never gives us more than we can handle but he can not prevent us from agreeing to take on too much. We need to pray about everything before saying we will do each task. If we do not feel that GOD is giving us a green light we need to wait for the light to turn green. If the light doesn't turn green and we are being pushed for an answer then we have to bow out gracefully because GOD is saying NO.

Genesis 2:18 The LORD, GOD said "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Need More? Visit Matthew 11:25-30

Nothing Coincidental

Daily Reading: Colossians 4:2-6


Everyday we have expectations of what will happen. Everyday things don't go exactly according to plan. Something happens even the smallest thing that puts us in a circumstance we weren't expecting. A worker doesn't show up for a job and you fill in because another person was overwhelmed, visiting a loved one in a hospital and having to search for a bathroom further away from their room than the one you usually visit and you end up helping another visitor figure out how to turn a chair into a bed, and receiving a surprise delivery of flowers that was left with the neighbor because you weren't home which gave them joy and a nice visit with you.


In just one day all three of these things happened to me. In all these instances God used me to help others. Nothing gigantic or monumental but little things that made another person's life easier. God places us into situations where we can choose to help our fellow people or we can just keep going on our merry way. I didn't have to help the overwhelmed worker (not my job), I didn't have to help figure out the chair (I had never even used one before), I didn't have to visit with the neighbor (I could have collected the flowers & then hurried back home with a simple thank you or less).


God places us into positions to help but he doesn't make us help. He leads us to the water but he doesn't force us to drink it. Instead of thinking what a good deed we have done for someone else we should thank him for the little opportunities he tests us with so that we will recognize the bigger tests when they come along as being from him rather than the coincidences that we see so often.


Colossians 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.(NIV)


Need More? Visit Ephesians 5:1-21

Don't be a Job wife

Daily Reading: Job 1-2

As I read the first two chapters of Job I realized that when Job's children and possessions were taken from him Job's wife was spared. Was this because two become one? OR Was it because satan used Job's wife to tempt Job to sin against GOD.

We don't know her name or very little about her. What we do know is his wife said "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse GOD and die!"

We do not always stand on our faith. Sometimes we become weak and believe that our ending a trial will be better for us than riding out the storms that GOD has given us. Yet when we end the trial by our own doing we take a chance of losing the lesson that GOD felt was important for us to learn. In not learning that lesson we take a chance lost the lesson that prepares us for the next storm we face.

GOD meant for us to find that one special partner in life to cling to, to become one with, to be so close to that to be separated from them is painful. Unfortunately we do not always wait for the spouse that GOD wants us to have. We do what we want and don't listen to GOD. It never works out to our benefit and we eventually regret our decisions.

Even though Job was a Godly man his wife does not seem to share that faith in GOD. Though we depend on our spouses to support us in the hardest of times we must learn to do as Job did "You are talking like a foolish (meaning:morally deficient) woman. Shall we accept good from GOD, and not trouble?"

Stand strong with your spouse in all matters. God has blessed your union and he will bless your life, even through the storms you face. The storms never seem as rough when you carry the burden together.

Daily verse: Job 2:10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from GOD, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. (NIV)

Need More? Visit Ecclesiastes 9