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Affair Proof Your Marriage

1 Corinthians 7:1-5

This week I had someone contact me and ask me to pray for a lady with two children whose husband deceived her and left her. He told the family that they were moving for his job. They sold their home, packed all of their belongings, moved in with her parents until their new home was ready. He left and called a few days later to tell her he was not coming back.

My heart fell when I heard their story. How could someone be so cruel and calculated to rip a mother and children from their home only to leave? Stories like this one are common these days. Everything from renewing old friendships on facebook to just growing apart dot not just our world but our churches as well. That is why I felt so compelled to choose this scripture. When you say, “I do,” to your spouse it is also “I do,” to God’s plan for your life and marriage. It is saying no to any physical or emotional relationship with anyone who is not your husband. Here are some guidelines that can affair proof your marriage if both spouses follow them.

*Do not text, call for social reasons, or chat on a computer with anyone who is not your spouse. If your business compels you to speak to someone of the opposite sex, keep it business and hang up when business is complete.

* Allow your spouse to have access to your phone and computer. Accountability is a good deterrent.

* Do not get into a vehicle alone with a person of the opposite sex.

*Do not go into a house or out to eat alone with someone who is not your spouse.

* Maintain a healthy physical relationship with your spouse.

Please share these easy steps with your mate. Talk about them and make a commitment to each other to stay pure in your marriage.

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And the Two Shall Become One

Here is confession time again. I hate writing anything on the home or marriage because the enemy always attacks there when I do. So, I have my combat boots on this morning. For those of you who are not married, please pray for those of us who are. The home is under attack in a mighty way these days, and if the enemy can keep couples from communicating he has a foot in the door.

Genesis 2:22-24

The setting was beautiful with flowers and candlelight. The bride and groom descended the stairs then, with shaking hands they each lifted the candle their parents had lit and together they lit the unity candle and extinguished the other flames.

As that unity candle burns you do not see two flames but one. It isn’t divided in the middle reflecting her side and his. It is amazing to me when couples come for counseling and think that marriage is a 50/50 partnership. I almost want to laugh and say, you have no idea. Marriage is hard work and it takes 100% commitment from both spouses to make a marriage really work. Just as that flame has become a unified never to be separated so will your lives be. Yes, you will still be who you are as a person, and you will have your job and responsibilities. You will still have your friends and your spouse will have his friends, but now that you two are one your spouse takes priority over all others. That is how God purposed the husband and wife relationship to be. That is also why it is so difficult when a marriage is torn apart because whole body has been ripped in two. Just as there is pain involved when your body is cut or torn, so it is when a couple tears the one body they form into two. God’s perfect plan was one man and one woman united as one for a lifetime. How are you doing making your husband priority? If it has become a struggle ask God to fan into flame your unity again. Ask Him to help you love your husband only and to serve him as the prized possession he truly is.

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Help My Unbelief

Mark 9:20-29
Do you ever get discouraged and overwhelmed by what you are facing and just cry out to God? Is there a part of you that believes God will answer but another part of you questions whether there really is a God and if He really cares?

I remember when my granny was coming to the end of her life. She had been a strong believer for many years. She never missed church, and as a guest in her home you didn’t either. She lived a life devoted to God, but as cancer ate away at her body I asked her, “Granny are you going to heaven?” She responded, “I hope so.” Her response baffled me. How could this woman of faith not respond with calm assurance, “I am”? I wondered if Granny felt much like the man in our Bible reading today, “I believe, help my unbelief.”

There may be situations you are facing right now that are causing you stress and anxiety. Cry out as this man did and ask the Father to help you to believe. He will. Then hold on to the truths you know from God’s word and walk in faith. The Bible says God cannot lie. (Hebrews 6:18) Jesus says of Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (John 14:6) You can believe!
If you have never accepted Christ your Savior, confess right now that you are a sinner, you need Him to forgive you and come into your heart. This is where you begin. The study the Word for yourself and hold onto the promises you find there. This Father did not have all of the answers, but he turned to the One who did. Life him, turn to Jesus, believe Him and see Him do amazing things.

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Don’t Worry

Matthew 6:25-32

“Hello, my name is Page and I am a worrier.” I have never heard of a Worriers Anonymous group, but if there were I would be a candidate. It is hard for me to admit that my worry and trying to control is a sin. Since I am confessing I will go on to admit my greatest anxieties stem from finances or should I say the lack of finances. When our oldest son was preparing to graduate from High School I remember vividly laying in bed adding up the cost of his first year in college. I was also in desperate need of a reliable vehicle, and our second son was preparing to get his license and would be added to our insurance. Taxes were killing us…do I need to add more? I lay there in bed in tears trying to figure out how Les and I were going to handle it all. I wish I could say that was the only time I have been teary with worry, but it is not. Just as our scripture reminds us today, we can’t change anything by worrying. Worry is like saying to God, “I don’t trust You. I must figure a way to handle my problems.” That may be the very reason you are encountering that trial. Until we come to the end of us, we will never learn to trust God. It is now six years past that trial. Our oldest not only graduated from college, he is now in his third year of seminary, our second son has also graduated from college and is in seminary, and the third son is in college. We still have no money, but I have a paid for car, and our fourth child comes on the insurance in the next few days. The demands are still there, but I am different now. I am learning to trust. When those sleepless nights come now I have learned not to try to fix it, but give it to my Father and trust Him.

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First Love

Matthew 22:37-40
As a child, did you have a favorite toy? I did. It was a Raggedy Ann doll I got for Christmas. She had flaming red hair, black button eyes, wore a flowered dress with a white cotton apron over it and sported white pantaloons. I loved that doll and took her everywhere. She slept with me at night and was carried on my hip all day. Over time Raggedy Ann began to be left behind, and then one day she just disappeared. After a while I began to look for the once precious doll but she was nowhere to be found. I looked on my bed, in the toy box, finally mom had to get involved and she was found my once treasured doll under the bed. To my horror, Raggedy Ann had black stuff on her face and in her hair. I wept and begged my mom to fix her.

As I thought about loving God, I wondered if maybe some of us relate to God much like I did my doll. At first we take Him everywhere. He is the center of our attention, but with time other things crowd our thoughts and we give our heart to other things. Maybe God gets lost under the bed of other relationships or just under our busy schedule. Is it time to clean out the other things of your life that have covered over your relationship with Christ? Take time today to renew your relationship with Him. Love Him first and most.
Please pray for the ladies who will attend the .MOM event that they will renew their relationship with Jesus and place Him where He belongs in their lives.

Pray for Kelly Hancock who will be leading 10 Tips to Never Pay Full Price Again.

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Broken Things

2 Chronicles 7:14
Have you ever walked into a room and found something broken and you asked, “What happened?” to which your children said, “I don’t know,” or began to blame his or her brother, “He did it,” pointing to a sibling. In our home with four children “I don’t know” was blamed for many things. After asking questions and getting down to the facts I generally found the guilty party. Then not only did they get punished for the disobedience, but they also suffered for their lying and trying to cover it up.
As angry as I get with my children I know deep down they are just like their dad. ? Not really, they are just like me. God tells us in the verse that we read today, “If My people called by my name.” He is saying, “I know you did it, now just come clean so you can receive forgiveness and healing can begin.” As we start this adventure I ask you to allow God to come into your heart and look around. If He convicts you about broken issues in you, confess them and allow His loving hand to bring cleansing and healing to you.
Pray for the many women who need to attend the .MOM conference that need healing. Pray they will hear God’s voice and allow healing to begin in their lives.

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Thankful for Friends

God has blessed me in so many ways. I have a wonderful family, church, home, and job, but I am more grateful than words can say for the friends God has put into my path over the years. I could not do ministry or life without them. They pray for and with me, they entertain me, they speak truth into my life, they study God’s word with me, and they travel this journey of life with me. As I come to the close of this day I just want to thank God over and over again for placing just the right people in my life to make me a better child of God, steward of what He has given me, and just plain ole more fun than I would be without my precious friends.