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Click on the World to go to our International page! |
 Previous issues are located in The Archive |
July, 2005 |
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CONSIDER
HIM… |
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HOPE
OR DEFEAT? Yes,
life can be tough and painful. God did not promise that we would never
have challenges or difficult times to go through. When these times come we
find out what is on the inside of us. Do we choose to grow better or get
bitter? Do we choose to speak the Word over our situations or let our
situations overcome us? Do we choose to believe what God says or do we
believe the lies of the enemy of our souls? Do we choose to hope in God
and have faith that our marriages will be healed or accept defeat? We
recently received two letters from two men who have been apart from their
mates for about the same length of time. One was uplifting and the other
was depressive, expressing two totally different attitudes. One
said it would be better if our organization did not exist, that we give
false hope and teach people to not accept reality. He described himself as
a wounded soldier who has lost everything, including his wife and his
livelihood. He attends church occasionally, and has no hope because he
sees very few answers to the prayers of Christians. He sometimes considers
suicide and hopes that he can believe in God’s love again. The
other man shared how, since standing for six years for his marriage,
God’s breaking away of a lot of the subtle, yet powerful and
dysfunctional bondage of Satan in his life has brought awesome fulfillment
and joy! His
attitude was totally different from that of the first man. He was not
complaining or bitter. He was not looking at his wife’s sin, but rather
at the work God is doing in his own life. He also shared the following
thoughts: “In the spiritual
realm Satan is trying to steal, kill and destroy the glory of God in any
way he can. God, on the other hand, is trying to set us free from Satan's
deception to let us experience fulfillment in His glory. “Satan
goes to one spouse in a marriage and says, "I want to use you to
destroy this relationship and in leaving, inflict collateral damage on the
children and future generations and steal the glory from God."
(Unfortunately he doesn't say it outright. He deceives them into doing
it.) God says to the other spouse, ‘I want to use you to stand and heal this relationship and in standing provide a strong heritage for the children and future generations and let my glory come forth powerfully.’ “We
control who takes authority—either we exercise the authority we have in
Christ or we relinquish it to Satan. But all too often Satan deceives us
also, and we give in and he walks off, smirking, with the victory. How
sad. All God's power and glory is laid aside to allow Satan the freedom to
steal, kill and destroy. This ought not to be. “Instead
of letting Satan win we should stand and claim the victory in Christ. Who
is this devil that he dare defy the armies of the living God? The gates of
hell shall not prevail against us—so we're going in after our spouses to
set them free from his deception and bondage. He will NOT have the victory
any longer!” I
feel compassion for my brother who hurts so badly. I pray healing for his
broken heart and wounded spirit, so that he can hope once again and
experience God’s love. I
pray he can learn to take his eyes off what his wife has done and allow
God to do a work in him. I pray hope will become faith so that he can be
victorious in every area of his life; not just his marriage. I
believe we can learn to resist Satan’s attacks instead of giving in to
defeat and blaming others and God. I believe we can learn that people are
not our enemies according to Ephesians 6:12, which says we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and
spiritual wickedness in high places. I
believe we can learn to be patient and give the timing to God. Habakkuk
2:3-4 (TLB) says it this way, “But these things I plan won't happen
right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision
will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will
surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single
day!” How
do we arrive at the place where we no longer hurt, but have peace and joy?
“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans
10:17) We must sit under the preaching and teaching of the Word and spend
time in the Word until it speaks to us personally. We must feed on God’s
Word until it becomes stronger and more powerful than the words our flesh
or the devil speaks. Yes,
in the beginning we must discipline ourselves when we do not feel like
spending time with the Lord. When
our flesh wants to kick and scream and have a pity party. When others tell
us we are wasting our time and to get on with our lives. However,
the results are well worth the work involved. Not only do we enter into a
place of rest and patience, healing takes place in our lives and we
experience the joy of the Lord and the assurance that we are exactly where
God wants us: a place of hope instead of defeat. The
choice is ours; we decide which path we take. We can choose to hope in God
and trust Him for the outcome, or we can choose to be negative and blame
God and others. There is always hope in God. Nothing is impossible or too
difficult for Him! |
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The
following is a lesson taken from our new publication, “Foundations for
Keeping Covenant”. It is a self-study workbook that covers the following
topics:
The
workbook can be ordered at this special price until September 30, 2005: USA
$12.00 Canada $12.35 Mexico
$13.25 International $17.10 The
Importance of Covenant to the Heart Covenants
are commitments entered into based upon vows that are “spoken from the
heart.” Their basis is rooted in the heart. God illustrates this in
Jeremiah 31:33 where he says, “But
this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” When we
are born again by accepting Jesus into our heart, we are entering into a
covenant with God. | ||
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Don’t
forget that God so loved the world that He gave His best to us
and that is the very fabric of covenant. When we are in covenant
relationship with God, we exchange all of our assets, strengths, weakness,
and problems for His assets and strengths. We give him everything we are
and possess while He makes available to us everything He is, everything He
owns, and everything He can do. We work on His behalf to further His
interests, and He works on our behalf to further our well-being. We stand
up for His honor and He fights in our defense. Isn’t that a wonderful
exchange? That’s covenant relationship in action. God
not only keeps covenant with us, but through covenant He
bestows His grace (undeserved favor and empowering presence) upon us.
As we continue to give control of our heart to God, we walk in the
benefits and the blessings of being in covenant with Him. When we love God
with all our hearts, we give control of our lives to Him. Luke 10:27-28
shows us, “And he answering said,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour
as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and
thou shalt live.” The strength of God’s covenant empowers us to
live with this kind of love and commitment towards others. Matthew
13:14-16 tells us that one condition needed for healing is an
understanding heart. We need an understanding heart for our lives and
our relationships to be completely healed. (This reference is also
found in Isaiah 6:10 and Acts 28:27.) Additional Scriptures: Proverbs 23:26; Mark 12:30; Mark 12:33; Luke 10:27 |
Covenants are Established in the Heart1)
We enter covenant with God by giving our heart to Jesus. Read
Romans 10:6. That
if thou shalt ____________ with thy ___________ the Lord Jesus,
and shalt ______________ in thine __________ that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be ________________. 2) God keeps covenant and responds to us with a heart of mercy. Read
Deuteronomy 7:9. ___________ therefore that the LORD thy God, he is ________, the _______________ God, which keepeth ________________ and ___________ with them that _________ him and keep his ______________________ to a thousand generations. 3) Healing results from an understanding heart. Read
Matthew 13:15. For
this people’s __________ is waxed gross, and their ears are dull
of _____________, and their eyes they have ____________; lest
at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and should _____________ with their ____________, and
should be converted, and I should ______________ them.
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Marriages Will Thrive in 2005! |
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Crowne Plaza Hotel 
