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I used to think that most important things were the really BIG decisions but the older that I have gotten I have come to the understanding that its the exact opposite! LITTLE things create the greatest difference in life....the Jot and Tittle....the seemingly minor details can change everything. I pray this blog will inspire you to pencil in a smile, kind word or helping hand in your important "to do" list for the day...a jot and tittle can impact a person more than you know.
Friday, July 12, 2013
15 in 5: Marathon Marriage
15 in 5: Mirror, Mirror
I COR 13: 4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (NIV)
We spend so much time every day checking our reflection. When we wake up we shake our head and wonder how we will ever control that bed head, before we walk out the door we take one last glance to make sure we are presentable to the world. We catch our reflection in the store window and think, “wow, I am lookin’ good today”. Needless to say, we are pretty familiar with the person we see in the mirror. But what if the mirror is skewed, what if you catch yourself looking in one of those warped carnival mirrors? Some of them may make you look shorter, taller, fatter, thinner…some even make you look like a bobble head! If we spend enough time looking in an inaccurate mirror we begin to forget what our real reflection looks like and eventually we will begin to believe the lie!
You and your spouse were created in the image and likeness of God. Marriage speaks to the world about the Nature of God. Individually we are created to be His reflection to the world, but together in marriage we are more than just His reflection. Together we are a reflection of His love, His forgiveness and WHO HE IS! From the beginning of time the enemy has been attempting to warp the reflection of God. Since he cannot hurt God, he will try to hurt you (His image) or your marriage (His reflection). If you are damaged to a point that your marriage suffers, then not only are you defeated but so are your children, grandchildren and generations to come! We must see our marriage as God does, as a reflection of Him. The longer we see our marriage in an inaccurate reflection, the more likely we are to buy into the lie and forget what a real marriage looks like.
Have you forgotten what the reflection of your marriage really is? Do you want to know what a real marriage looks like? It’s simple, examine the nature of God. He is loving, kind, gentle, merciful, humble…here’s a hint… compare your marriage to I Corinthians 13:4-7. If you examine the reflection of your marriage and you aren’t seeing the traits of God then you are looking at a jaded version of the truth God has for you and your spouse. Don’t pass down that crazy carnival mirror reflection to the next generation. Take the time to see the full picture and know what you and your marriage are reflecting to generations to come.
Prayer Points:
· PRAY that God will show you how to reflect HIS attitudes in your marriage
· ASK Him to protect your marriage from the one who seeks to destroy
· THANK Him for showing us who HE is through our spouse
You are God's Best!
Pastor Don Gibson
15 in 5: Joy-Full, Joy-Full We Adore Thee
Job 8:21
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. (NIV)
When asked “what makes your mom the most happy?” A four year old girl answered with a grin and a giggle “Daddy”. Followed by the question, “So what makes Daddy most happy?” the same grin and giggle replied “Mommy”. This little girl was fortunate enough to be able to recognize that her parents not only loved each other but took joy in each other.
We plan the wedding of our dreams, walk down the aisle and have a blast on our honeymoon but no one really tells us where to go from there. We know we are supposed to love in sickness and health and all that, but does anyone tell us we need to find joy in our marriage? Are we ever told we can actually kick back, relax and enjoy each other? What a concept that would be. It’s so easy to get bogged down with the everyday chores of life like going to work, paying bills, doing the laundry, wrangling the kids or grandkids that we forget there is a person standing right in front of us. This person once was the thing we thought about most, the source of our smile, the reason the second hand on the clock crept along until the next second we could spend together. But now they are standing there a few years older (maybe more) and we begin to wonder where all the joy we used to feel when they walked into a room has gone? The joy is still there but we tend to bury it under hurt feelings, fights and unfulfilled expectations.
Well, all that stuff just doesn’t sound like any fun, so why not do a little relationship house cleaning? This may be easier said than done but God doesn’t desire for us to live in the difficulties of marriage, He delights in our joy! God created Eve for Adam as a gift, she brought Him great joy! Can you imagine them as they laughed together watching the monkeys swinging from branch to branch or possibly even got in a water fight in a lagoon? God wouldn’t have created laughter if He didn’t want us to participate, especially with the one person we have chosen to walk through life with. Imagine how your kids or friends would react if you and your spouse started actually delighting in each other. How would your marriage, your attitude…your life change if you stopped holding on to the offenses and started finding ways to have fun! Go ahead….jump in with both feet, the water’s fine!!!
Prayer Points:
· PRAY that God can help you let go of any offenses against your spouse
· THANK Him that His Joy is your strength!
· DECLARE that today you will find a way to laugh with your spouse
· REJOICE that God designed us to enjoy the gift of marriage
You are God's Best!
Pastor Don Gibson
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
15 in 5: Smashing Statistics
Luke 6:26 “There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests!.... Your task is to be true, not popular. (The Message)
It’s the norm of society to expect a broken, blended or BLAH marriage. It is expected that wives will degrade and talk down about their husbands and that husbands will complain and irritate their wives. Isn’t that what the media has flashing in our faces all the time? Think back to the decade of your youth, your parents or grandparents… did television depict the same marriage and family relationships that it does today? Could you ever dream of June Cleaver gossiping with her neighbor about Ward because he came home late and didn’t take out the garbage? Or can you imagine Pa Ingalls talking with Mr. Edwards about all the money Caroline had spent out shopping and how selfish she was?
Long gone are the Leave It To Beaver and Little House on the Prairie Days when marriage was a partnership between people who loved each other. It has been a gradual process but somehow we have arrived at a place where the word “family” has no definition at all. In our workplaces we are encouraged to look out for #1. In our activities it’s all about win, win, win! How do we break that mold and smash the statistics that tell us our marriage will end in divorce, hurt, pain and brokenness? Is that what we have to look forward to??? God has a different plan.
God wants us to keep our priorities straight: FIRST> build a foundation on Him, SECOND> Honor your marriage. Can we truly honor our spouse if we are looking out for ourselves all the time? Can we honor our family if we make our marriage a competition? To show honor we can’t always be on the defensive and looking to blame. We have to break through the boundaries that others have set before us and be the difference. Instead of allowing your marriage to be one of the statistics, why not smash those statistics and rise above, be the example. It won’t be easy and you can’t do it alone because you have attacks coming at your marriage from all sides. When you feel tempted to share a not so flattering story about your husband or wife….Stop! When you want to complain and fit in with the others who are bashing…Don’t! It will take a conscious effort to smash those stereotypes but your family is worth fighting for. God knows the plans He has for you so get ready, society is watching. What will they see in your marriage? What is the difference?
Prayer Points:
· THINK about a marriage or family you admire – ask God to show you why
· PRAY that God will show you how to honor your spouse more
· WATCH for times you can brag on your spouse or family to others publically
· THANK God for this opportunity to show society something different
You are God's Best!
Pastor Don Gibson
Monday, July 8, 2013
15 in 5: A Strong Foundation
Luke 6: 48-49 “If you work (MY) words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.” (The Message)
The definition of the word foundation is: “A body or ground on which other parts rest or are overlaid, typically below the surface”. When a contractor starts to build a house they must first survey the land to find out what they are working with, then they will set a foundation in place. The more unstable the soil is, the deeper they dig to anchor the foundation. If this step is overlooked it will most likely result in huge cracks, shifting or complete destruction. Some of the issues with a weak foundation can be repaired, but it will be costly and time consuming. In most cases a weak foundation causes damage that cannot be reversed.
While the foundation of a home is obviously instrumental in how successful that home withstands the test of time, you have probably never been over to dinner at a friend’s house and complemented them on their impeccable foundation or driven by a house and thought “If I could only have their foundation my house would be rock solid”. Foundations get overlooked, stepped on and seriously under-appreciated. This same fact rings true in the lives of our marriages and families.
The culture of America today is to build first and worry about the foundation later. We have marriages built on infatuation and families started before marriage. We stand in the rubble scratching our heads and wondering WHY? It’s simple…the foundation must be established before the structure can withstand!
In looking to our model for marriage in the Garden of Eden, Adam had a perfect relationship with God. Nowhere does the Word state that Eve perfected Adam’s relationship with His creator. Eve was a gift to Adam to help him on Earth but before he received this gift, he was in right relationship with his eternal foundation. In order to build a strong marriage and strong family we must take the time to individually assess our personal relationship with God. The amazing thing about God (Our Master Builder) is that unlike human contractors, HE is able to reestablish a foundation underneath all our mess and prevent potential disaster from causing us to crumble; all we have to do is ask.
Prayer Points:
· THANK God for being our eternal foundation
· PRAISE God for each member of your family (call them out by name)
· ASK God to restore your foundation so that your family can withstand hardships
· DECLARE that everything you do today will be grounded in Christ
Pastor Don Gibson
Friday, July 5, 2013
15 in 5: Warning: The Final Letter
15 in 5: You and You Alone
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