Marriage

My Prayerful Thoughts

Approaching our 7th anniversary, I had the opportunity to prayerfully speak on marriage today. I'm just going to paste that below. You're welcome to contact us with your thoughts and comments, and perhaps this section will grow and evolve as THE LORD leads and perhaps with some of your feedback. This is just how this page will begin. No telling what all our FATHER will choose to do with it from there. We trust HIM with this page.

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Many marriages experience trouble with arguing, fighting, and sometimes abuse. Marriage is not supposed to be that way, of course, but GOD'S design is that the body of CHRIST would handle that internally, as a family would... to intervene, separate, and defend. To pray, counsel, encourage, and rebuild. What our FATHER puts together, let no one separate. That's HIS will. This is often when it is exposed who a person's god is, when they decide to reject GOD'S will and pursue their own course of action, despite the warnings, and even with GOD saying that there is a way that seems right to a person and it leads to destruction. I can tell you the mind-blowing rewards that lie beyond these radical moments of self-denial and devoted obedience in the most difficult times. Nothing is impossible with GOD, and HE blesses the obedient. Some people just don't really believe that. In fear and anxiety, often with others around them giving bad advice, they reject obedience and choose disobedience, thinking there will be ease or improvement in the situation. And just like children, we don't listen. We do it our way, thinking this or that, when GOD has already spoken.

GOD actually compounds this whole idea when JESUS tells the religious leaders that, although they claim to be sons of Abraham, name-dropping for clout among their peers and the community, JESUS tells them that if they were sons of Abraham, they would do what Abraham and take GOD at HIS WORD and walk it out. Rather, they reject the commands of GOD ALMIGHTY, creating their own, stupid laws to follow and bragging publicly about how good they are... like Satan. And HE tells them that they are sons of Satan, for they do the works of Satan.

Satan is the god of this world. Do the things that he does and go where Satan is headed: Hell.

GOD doesn't pull punches in HIS WORD. But a vast majority of the world are not interested in learning and knowing HIS WORD because they are not truly interested in HIM... and it always, always comes down to one very simple thing. We do what we want. Like children, always looking for how we might get what we want, if possible, at the precise moment we want it. That's best-life for humans. This is why when the first two humans come to follow after JESUS, HE turns around and asks them the most important question of their life. "What do you want?"

They wanted HIM, and so they followed HIM, through thick and thin, for years. While thousands of thousands turned away from JESUS, they stayed. When HE said things they didn't understand, they stayed to keep learning. They said HE spoke the words of LIFE. They said HE IS the SON OF GOD. When JESUS told everyone HE IS GOD, the religious leaders wanted to kill HIM, one time even picking up rocks to carry out HIS public execution. HIS disciples stayed. They didn't leave HIM. They left their families, jobs, possessions, towns, communities, friends, and synagogues. They gave up everything to follow HIM. Because they believed. People can say they are saved, born-again, a believer, and more. It's very clear who is a disciple of JESUS and who is not. Just watch how they live their life. Watch how they spend their money. Watch how they spend their time. Catholics say they are "Christians". Mormons say they are Christians. People who could care less about JESUS call themselves Christians. People who go to church call themselves Christians. GOD says in Acts, only a disciple of JESUS is a Christian. And JESUS HIMSELF says if you will not give up anything, everything, choose me over your family and even your own life, face the persecution when it comes, like HE did... you cannot be a disciple of JESUS. Pretty clear language.

The rapture of the church? That's exclusive to HIS disciples.

How did HIS disciples identify themselves? Not with a color of their skin. Not with an allegiance to a nation. Slave. They called themselves slaves of CHRIST. That is "doulos" in the Greek, which they wrote in to spread the GOSPEL as far and wide as possible. GOD tells us through Paul that Paul was "bought with a price" and "no longer his own" and "it was no longer him who lived his life". And GOD tells us to believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths (from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks continually) that JESUS is LORD (MASTER) and we will be saved. It has to be real. It has to be genuine. It has to be a full surrender and submission to THE KING OF KINGS and THE SON OF GOD, JESUS. Everything we have and all we are, at HIS feet, to do with however HE desires, because we believe HE IS good and all-powerful, and the rightful KING of the earth. THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. HE saves us from Hell. From the judgment and penalty we deserve for our thousands or millions of sins against the good and holy GOD ALMIGHTY who created us, and JESUS says HE holds all things together so that we can even experience the life that we live. It's all HIS, created by HIM, for HIS good pleasure, which is love for us, HIS creation... if we would just acknowledge HIM... we would be with HIM forever. Safe. Protected. Provided for.

None of us are promised tomorrow.

Let us all choose this day, while we draw breath... before it's too late... who will we serve? THE MESSIAH and SON OF GOD, JESUS? Or Satan?