07-07-2007 Unconditional LOVE for My Blessing
80 min. movie
Tag: reconciliation
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Stuck in our Sin
Isaiah 63:16-17 For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.Matthew 12: He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!
- Are you a lost sheep of the Lord?
- Stuck in the mud, are you… and think no one cares?
- Been a while since you have found your self in fellowship and worship with other believers?
God our Father welcomes the ‘prodigal son.” (Do you recall, beloved lost sheep?)
Jesus our Lord and Redeemer leaves the ninety-nine of the fold to rescue the lost one. (…That angels might rejoice. Do you recall?)
James 4 (ESV)
Warning Against Worldliness
4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions[a] are at war within you?[b]
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder.
You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.
You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
4 You adulterous people![c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace.
Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Therefor be humble before the Cross. Bow down an worship your Redeemer.
Be NOT like a proud goat on his own hill,
But like a humble sheep,
Faithful to the call of the Shepherd.
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An Excellent Wife Who Can Find?
Proverbs 31:
10 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.A rare jewel is a wife faithful to Christ Jesus. A reward more precious than gold is a wife faithful to her husband.
An excellent wife who can find?
The vows of commitment of our Christian marriage speak of unbreakable relationship:
- unbreakable relationship of a man to a woman (We sure need them in our lives.)
- unbreakable relationship of a woman to a man
- and life-long relationship to our God as perfect example of love to both.
“In the name of God, I, ______, take you, ______, to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”
The vow and the word of a Christian is witness to our trust in Christ Jesus as our Lord.
A Christian wife is trusted by her husband as he must also trust in Christ our Lord to keep His promise of eternal Life.
When we are joined as one in the name of God, we are also one with the witness of our vows: our God and Lord, Christ Jesus. A Christian wife would no more betray her husband than an Apostle would betray his Lord. She is a woman of faith and integrity in the Lord.
The Bible makes clear that Christian marriage is the best example of the intimacy of the Bride, Christ’s Church, being joined as One with the returning Bridegroom, Jesus Christ our Lord, who IS and will return for His faithful Bride.
“She does Him good and not harm all the days of her life.”
Is this not the witness every Christian (man or woman) ought to have for Christ our Lord?
The Bible offers many examples of advice for men and about the counsel and company of other godly men; but the one place in the Bible offering some of the best advice for women is Proverbs 31.
Proverbs 31 opens with a reference to King Lemuel.
I never knew anything of this wise husband. I can offer no better insight than that of John MacArthur, a faithful authority on scripture.
I would offer my sisters in the Lord one additional resource to the scripture. (Some may be familiar with their radio broadcasts, which I too find encouraging.) Proverbs 31 Ministries.
Like a faithful husband in the Lord, a good wife needs encouragement of other Christians, women to offer her encouragement in scripture and prayer.
Please pray for my wife. Pray also for me.
Beloved sister in the Lord,
Seek the Lord and you will find Him. He is faithful to His bride.
07-07-07 I love my wife, my blessing.
(“Love” includes many loves for me. {See 1 Corinthians 13 & Song of Songs})
I love Jesus Christ as my Lord. Let no one doubt this First love of mine.
I will pray also for your Christian marriage.
(Just add a comment.)
