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June, 2002

   Annual Conference June 2002

Bible Reading Plan 

A QUESTION MANY PEOPLE ASK

ANSWERED BY MARILYN CONRAD

Covenant Keepers receives many calls, letters and e-mails from people who want to stand for the healing of their marriage. A good portion of the questions deal with the how-to's of standing. A covenant keeper mailed in the following question several years ago, but we have often heard it asked since. Below is the answer I sent to the original question.

Q: People tell me I must put my mate on the altar and give my mate to God. What does this mean, and how do I do it?

A: Our experience has been that when we take our hands off of our situation in the natural (and continue to do warfare in the spirit), that God is freed to move on our behalf.

By this we mean to stop trying to talk our mates back, use the Word of God to condemn them, use our children, use guilt, give them ultimatums, etc. All these methods are interpreted by our mates as manipulation and control, and they will continue to rebel against them.

When we give our mates to the Lord and work on ourselves, they experience a freedom from pressure that they feel in the spirit. Even though miles may separate us from our mates in the natural, there is no distance in the spirit.

I encourage you to daily turn your mate over to the Lord (put them on the altar) for Him to work His Word and will in their life. As you do this you will experience peace and enter into God's rest. However, do not mistake this peace as a release from your stand. Continue to pray and keep your hands off the situation.

WHEN FATHERS FAIL

BY DEREK PRINCE

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

Over two thousand years ago, God revealed to Malachi through prophetic foresight the greatest and most urgent problem of our day: delinquent fathers and unparented children.

Economists and social legislators offer us all sorts of diagnoses and solutions. The real root of the problem, however, is in the family. Parents have reneged on their responsibilities to their children. Often both parents are guilty, but the primary responsibility rests on the fathers.

The women's liberation movement has…backfired. Apart from making headway toward equal pay for equal work, women have been liberated from their commitment to honor their husbands. The husband, in turn, has been liberated from his obligation to be faithful to one woman. So the man gets tired of his wife and walks out. After that he has no more obligations while the woman is left struggling to raise one or more children on her own. In most cases, she is worse off than she was before.

Malachi's message was addressed to people extremely zealous in their religious practices, yet who complained that the Lord did not answer their prayers as they expected. In response, the Lord pointed out their failures as husbands and fathers. "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant." (Malachi 2:13-14)

God looked beyond their external religiosity and saw broken marriage vows and husbands abusing their wives. …Malachi's message might be summarized like this: "Nothing you do in church will make up for what you don't do at home."

God went on to explain one main purpose of a monogamous marriage as He originally ordained it: "Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring." (Malachi 2:15)

When husband and wife live together in harmony according to the principles of Scripture, they are qualified to raise righteous, God-fearing children. And when a marriage breaks up, it is the children who suffer the most. God continued with a warning to all husbands: "So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth." (Malachi 2:15) He followed this with an uncompromising statement of His attitude toward divorce: "For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce." (v. 16)

We may either restore family relationships and survive, or we may allow family relationships to continue to deteriorate and go the way they have been going the last decades. If we do, we will perish under God's curse.

Those of us who belong to older generations can complain about Generation X or Generation Next or whatever we may call them. We can point out all their faults and failings. But the crisis did not begin with them. It is the older generations who are to blame. It is our generations who have betrayed them, who have failed to represent the truth to them, who have failed to teach them godly discipline. Now God is judging us through our children.

The final outcome of this crisis will be decided by the response of the fathers. They are the ones whom God holds primarily responsible. In God's message through Malachi, He requires first that the hearts of the fathers turn to the children. Only after that will the hearts of the children turn to the fathers.

Excerpts by permission from Husbands and Fathers, Derek Prince © 2000,
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Book House.

More about Husbands and Fathers: Derek Prince explores the solution to society's number one problem—delinquent males—men who have failed in their primary responsibilities as husbands and fathers. Prince presents biblical foundations, insights and definitive guidelines to help every man who wants to be a blessing to those closest to him—his wife and children.

Order Husbands and Fathers: Covenant Keepers does not carry this paperback book, but you can get it by calling this toll-free number: 800-872-7729. You can also purchase Husbands and Fathers on the Internet via ebookstore at www.ifabooks.com. The book is $8.95 plus shipping.

"YOU WAIT A LIFETIME FOR AN OPPORTUNITY—DON'T MISS THE LIFETIME OF THE OPPORTUNITY"

BY DUKE ROHE, HOUSTON, TEXAS COVENANT KEEPER

This statement was made by a preacher who is part of an intense, ongoing (over five years now) revival. Revival is really a heavenly call to special holiness for a designated time, in a designated place for all who wish to receive. It is really a call to move on up higher to a sweeter, closer companionship with God.

Great things were happening because those who participated were so sold out for their Lord. The pastor offered up the warning above, that while there was a great interchange between man and God, don’t expect it to be around forever. The lifetime of that opportunity has an expiration date. Join in, grow, gain as much as you can; for you don’t know what is gone until it is gone.

Waiting and presuming the same opportunity would be there tomorrow is like playing spiritual roulette. It may be there by the grace of God, but then again, it may be gone. Revival is an accelerated time to hug your heavenly Father. It is a time to learn and grow and believe like never before. And I believe the reason it lingers is because a peoples’ heart desires to know and grow closer to the One who created them.

I work in an awesome Cancer hospital. One day I was going to a nurses' station to speak with someone. Standing in the middle of the hallway, on the way to the station was an elderly lady, weeping. You could sense that she was reeling from the hurt that her husband or child had gotten bad news. She had a tote bag next to her and she probably was oblivious that she was in the middle of the corridor.

The nurse I sought was not in; as I returned, the lady was still there, absorbed in her moment. I felt compassion for her and could not imagine what that would feel like. Back in my office, a sense of loss hit me. I had missed an opportunity. If I could do it again, I would stop and ask, “Can I just stay here with you for a bit?” Not to do anything, or say anything, but just to be available. No words could comfort her grief, but maybe a caring heart could—someone to come alongside.

Opportunities are like snow flakes. It’s said each one is unique, yet when they fall to the ground and pack or melt they are no more. My lesson learned is to make the saying above a continual prompt on my heart from now on. And my life will be so much richer.

God Will Make A Way For You In 2002!