May, 2000

The Benefits of Being in a Covenant Keepers Group
By Sharon Browning

Who may attend a Covenant Keepers group? Are the groups just for couples or just for singles? Covenant Keepers groups minister to men and women (each one half of a marriage partnership) who want a healed marriage but who do not have the cooperation of their partner. They want to save their marriage and are willing to do it alone. People in covenant groups may be divorced, living with their mate, or separated.

Are you attending a Covenant Keepers group? You may not be fortunate enough to live in a city or community where a covenant group meets. Even if you haven’t felt God’s call to leadership, please pray about opening your home to people who want to be in this kind of group. There could be many in your area who would welcome the opportunity to meet together to pray and support each other. Strong Covenant Keepers groups all over the country often are established this way. 

Being in a group for several years has been a true blessing. Opening my home to others with like minds has proved to be a privilege. We have prayed, laughed, and cried with each other, but most of all, we have encouraged each other.

We studied the Covenant Keepers curriculum together and stood together in agreement on God’s Word. Support for each other is tremendous.

If you have connected with a group, do you attend regularly to support group leaders and the other members? Do you share your finances with Covenant Keepers? Hebrews 10:24,25 (NIV) exhorts us to “…let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as we see the day approaching.”

When a jockey rides a powerful horse, he spurs his horse to run with peak performance. The rider does not punish the horse; he urges his mount to call forth its full resources to run the best race it possibly can. Likewise, when we “spur” others on spiritually, we urge them to draw upon their full resources in Christ to fulfill the spiritual potential that God places in their lives.

Thank God for the ministry of Covenant Keepers. Thanks also to Him for raising up a family—yes, a family—for such a time as this. Ask God to give you opportunities to express love to people today by encouraging them.

May God bless you and every precious member of your family.

Sharon is the Southern Regional Director (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas) and assists with the Great Lakes Region (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin).

Together Again!

Here are short reports about couples that recently got back together again. Covenant Keepers rejoices with them as the Lord rebuilds their marriages. In the words of a Covenant Keeper’s wife who remarried her husband in February, “It wasn’t what (he) did, it wasn’t what (I) did; it’s what GOD did!” Please pray for these couples as they reestablish their relationships.

Alberta, Canada: “Just wanted to let you know that the Lord is doing a real healing in my marriage. I've moved back to my house with my husband and my son and we are doing well. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.”

 “I left my husband in 1998 and moved to another city. When I left, I knew I needed inner healing. Over the year, the Lord took me through a deep healing and little by little, God cleaned out my heart. He showed me mercy while He was healing me and revealing repressed memories. When all of the cleaning was done, He started speaking to me about the people I had hurt along the way. Because of my inner pain, I hadn’t realized how wrongly I had reacted to my husband and blamed him for many events that weren’t completely his fault. Over a period of a couple weeks the Lord showed me all the things I needed to apologize for to my husband. Within a few days of telling him what the Lord had done for me, he left his fiancée and came home. Even though he was on guard, Jesus showed him that I wasn’t the same person. Now we are healed. He says he always knew deep inside it would not have worked with anyone else. Cool! Forgiveness and God’s grace have been our marriage’s salvation.”

England: CK and son have left England to join husband in United States. They have been separated for over 5 years.

Georgia: Covenant keeper’s husband has moved home. She went on a trip overseas, and when she came back, her husband wanted to come home.

Montana: “I have wonderful news that I wanted to share since I emailed you last. My husband and I are back together. He has come a long way in a short amount of time. He’s been reading his Bible. Thank you for all your prayers and support. The power of prayer really does work!”

South Carolina: “I wanted to thank you for all your ministry has done for me. My husband came home after a seven-month absence, having filed for divorce. I praise God he is home; he praises God that I had the strength to hang on, believe in God, and had the faith to keep standing for our marriage. We have been married for over 21 years and because of the grace of God we will see our 22^nd wedding anniversary.”

South Carolina: After a 15 month separation, a covenant keeper and his wife renewed their wedding vows. They both attended a Covenant Keepers Yellow Ribbon Day meeting in October and received ministry there. The Lord continued His healing work over the next few months, and now they are back together.

Virginia: A covenant keeper writes: “Dear faithful Covenant Keepers, I thank God for this ministry and your prayers. God has restored our marriage. I just want to thank you for all your prayers and for hanging in there with me.”

Washington: A covenant keeper and her husband reconciled after a one-year separation. She attended a Covenant Keepers Group meeting and prayed for her marriage daily. God spoke to her through Psalm 62:5: “My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.”