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This devotion is from a precious sister in Christ Jesus and I felt it worth reading and heeding…
“Well, here we are on the verge of another new year. Many of us had thought surely the Lord would have come by now, seeing how base the world is becoming daily. He has chosen to wait though, and I’m sure He has His reasons.As I turn on the radio, or read the news my mind is bombarded with bad news. The economy is terrible, millions of people out of work, unemployment benefits running out, health care becoming an issue with the new administration that has been elected. Our senses are overloaded with worry and our “hearts are made to tremble.”
I sat at a table not long ago with some Christian friends of mine, and the economy was the topic of discussion. I heard talk of how social security would run out before we could even be eligible to receive it, how health care would be unaffordable, how we were headed for trouble on every hand. One person spoke up and said, “What are we going to do?” Well, before I even thought I replied, “We will have to live by our faith! What a concept for Christians!” The table fell silent for a moment, and then the conversation continued in the same vein it had been. I was a bit troubled by this, for several reasons. For weeks I too had been caught up in the hype and constant talk of all the trouble with the world today. I listened to the radio, read the news, and I worried. One day, however, as I was cleaning my kitchen and had the radio on to one of the major stations telling all the bad things we had to look forward to in the coming year, that “still small voice” that I recognize so well spoke to my heart. He said, “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are of faith, whatsoever things are of good report… if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.” I immediately shut off the radio. No wonder I had been so depressed in recent days. I was “thinking on” all the wrong things! I was feeding the worry and starving the faith! Instead of reading the news, I should have been reading the Good News, fortifying my heart with His promises. One morning I was about half awake, when I heard a voice say, “There will always be light in Goshen.” I came awake and wondered what that was supposed to mean. For days I walked around with that sentence fragment in my mind, “light in Goshen, light in Goshen”…what was that? Obsessed with it, I began to research. I was amazed to learn that when Joseph brought his family to Egypt to protect them from the famine, they settled in a place called Goshen. It was the very best land in Egypt, a fruitful place. Years later when the plagues came, that land was untouched by all the trouble. Finally, when the gross darkness covered Egypt, there was light in the dwellings of God’s people! I stopped and marveled at the thing that the Lord was showing me. Our world looks pretty dark right now, and it is covered with many plagues. Unemployment, crime, sicknesses, economic crises. In all, our world is suffering from gross darkness of its own. The Lord, however, is our Light! He has promised that whatsoever we ask in His name, He will do it. Now, it may not be in our time frame, on our time clock, but that doesn’t mean He is not working on our behalf! He said, “Be anxious for nothing.” An old wise saint told me years ago, “to worry closes God’s hand.” I have tried to remember that when I find myself in a situation that brings me great anxiety. I don’t always succeed, but I try! I was encouraged to know that no matter how gross the darkness of the world, nor how bad the situation becomes, He will always light our path! There will be light in our Goshen, our fruitful place, in the church of the Living God. This is no time to be sitting back expecting the worst; it’s time to be standing up and proclaiming the Light! He knows the way that we take, and He will not let us stumble in the darkness. He is faithful and loves us beyond measure. Take comfort in that!” Blessings, |
Are world events troubling you?
Kathy on Jan 16th 2009
Our Marriage Relationship…
Kathy on Jan 4th 2009
Ephesians 5:31-32 (NLT) As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
Our relationship in marriage is a type of Christ and the Church. We show Christ’s love for His Bride (us) by the way we treat each other.
Treating one another this way does not come naturally. It won’t come accidentally, we have to do it on purpose! It will take prayer…asking God to help us know how to put it into practice.
I don’t hear people being referred to as “Gentlemen” and “Ladies” as I did years ago. It sounds old fashioned…I haven’t used those terms lately either; maybe I will start, I like the way they sound.
Hmmm…gentleman…gentle, that describes how my God is with me. That also describes how my husband treats me. He makes me feel like a lady, someone treasured. It makes me want to honor and respect him.
This did not come naturally for either of us. This gentleness, tenderness and respect, were things that were developed in our relationship. We had to learn how to put them into practice. We still make mistakes and hurt one another, from time to time. But this happens less and less as the years pass and the character of Christ is formed in us more and more.
We have also learned to ask forgiveness from the Lord and each other when our actions do not honor Christ in our marriage. Saying I’m sorry and meaning it, can be a tough lesson to learn. However letting the same hurt go on for days, and even years is much more painful and can eventually become fatal to a marriage.
Treating each other with love and respect at home first and also in public settings is the aim. It starts with loving thoughts. There it is again, that same biblical concept, what starts in the mind and heart will manifest itself in our speech and actions.
Guys, it is possible to be strong yet gentle and loving to your wife. Girls, it is possible to give honor and respect to your husband. Remember, when you are doing this to each other, you are doing it unto the Lord. You are painting a picture to the world of the relationship between Christ and the Church.
Things to think about: How do you treat your spouse when you are with other people relaxing, playing games, etc. How do you treat each other in the home?
Here are a few simple things you can start putting into practice at home as well as in public:
1. When you think loving thoughts about your spouse, don’t just think them, speak them.
2.Reach out with loving touches such as a kiss on the cheek or an admiring look and smile from the wife or a gentle squeeze around the waist or protective arm on her shoulder, from the husband.
These things are simple but a great start to a loving relationship. Don’t always wait for loving feelings, do the actions and the loving feelings will eventually follow.
You can be the first one to change for the good. Ask God to help you and He will. Don’t be discouraged and quit when things don’t seem to go right. Just keep on doing the right thing. It always pays off in the end!
Remember, you are not treating each other this way only for the sake of your spouse, for others, or for the sake of your children. You are doing it because you love and honor your God. Earthly and eternal benefits will follow!
Family
