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The Holy Ghost Congress of The Redeemed Christian Church of God

The Holy Ghost Congress of The Redeemed Christian Church of God

Marriage Insight: A Thanksgiving Focus on Marriage

Marriage Insight: A Thanksgiving Focus on Marriage

“Here in the States [and other parts of the world], we commemorate a day of Thanksgiving. Yes, we’re supposed to continually give thanks to God. But this is also a holiday dedicated to do just that. We love it! Too often—especially in our married lives we forget to focus on our blessings. But even in the toughest of situations we can focus that, for which we can be thankful.

We totally agree with something that Dr Lee Baucom wrote in an article titled, "Thanksgiving and Marriage": “Marriages tend to suffer when we spend our time thinking about what we don’t have. When we compare our spouse to someone else, or focus on the weaknesses of our relationship, or find all that makes us unhappy, we move in that direction. There is an endless list of people to whom we can compare our spouse. And we have a nearly infinite list of weaknesses in our relationship. But for today, just today, change the flow. Focus on what you are thankful for. What about the relationship do you cherish? What about your spouse do you treasure? If your answer is ‘nothing,’ you are not looking fairly or deeply.

“When we focus on what we are thankful for, a magical thing happens. We find more things for which to be thankful! We turn off the critical switch in our brain for just an instant. For a split second, we exist in an area of appreciation. And our task is to expand that appreciation into more and longer moments.”

This expresses our sentiments exactly. We can focus on that, which is negative or wrong. Or we can focus on the blessings we have. We’re told in the Bible to “give thanks in all circumstances, because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." We realize that this is especially difficult for many of you who are struggling in your marriages. And for that we are sorry. You feel alone, though married & abandoned, even though God has told you He would “never abandon you.” You may want to see His hand, His care, and His presence, but you don’t. However, we hope that something that Paul David Tripp wrote in his book, "What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage" ministers to your heart through these tough times. He wrote:

“Our purpose for marriage tends to be different from the Lord’s. Our desire is that our marriages would be the location of our comfort, ease, and enjoyment. We often have desires no bigger than this. But God’s purpose is that each of our marriages would be a tool for something that is way more miraculous and glorious than our tiny, little, self-focused definition of happiness. He has designed marriage to be one of his most effective and efficient tools of personal holiness. He has designed your marriage to change you.”

He also makes this point, “God is in control, not only of the locations in which you live, but also of the influences that have shaped you as a person. He has not only written the story of you & your spouse and determined that your stories would intersect but he has controlled all the things that have made you different from one another. As you struggle, you must not view your marriage as bad luck, or poor planning. Don’t view it as a mess that you made for yourself. No, God is right smack-dab in the middle of your struggle. He is not surprised by what you are facing today. He is up to something.” The question is: will you participate with Him or will you struggle against the work He is trying to accomplish WITHIN & THROUGH you?

Open Heavens Devotional - DOES OUR WORSHIP BENEFIT GOD?

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 12TH 2017

THEME: DOES OUR WORSHIP BENEFIT GOD?

Memorise:

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:3

Read: Revelation 5:11-13

5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Message:

Giving is a common and crucial activity that every serious minded believer in Christ should regularly engage in. The wise believer would hear this and flow with it, but those who think they are “smart” will hear and ignore it to their own undoing. Luke 6:38 says that you should give and it shall be given to you. Have you ever asked yourself who benefits when you give to God? Can you make God richer by giving to the Owner of the universe? Can you add to the Owner of silver and gold by giving to Him? Everything you have, you received from Him (1 Corinthians 4:7). You are the one who gains from giving to God. When you refuse to give, who loses? The Holy Spirit answers that question in Proverbs 11:24:

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.”

If you fail to give, you are the one who loses. Your giving determines how far you go in life. Overflowing abundance is a product of sacrificial giving. If you have been sowing sacrificially to God and His Kingdom but you have not yet reached the level of swimming in abundance, you should be celebrated. Why? It is because you are not likely to die until God pays you back in full. The One who said we should owe no man cannot afford to owe you.

Moreover, when you praise God, who gains? Can your praise add to Him in reality? In Psalm 18:1-3, David said several things about who God was to him. He said God is worthy to be praised, because he realized that when he praised God, he got delivered from his enemies. In other words, refusing to praise God would have resulted in him becoming a casualty in the hands of his enemies. So who loses if you refuse to praise God? Today’s Bible reading talks about God’s mass choir in Heaven. It says the size is something like 100 trillion. If God has such a great choir of angels and saved souls worshiping Him, what difference will adding or subtracting your voice from it make? Do you think that God will miss your voice? Therefore, who gains from worshiping and praising God? It is you! Every time God demands that we give something to Him, it is for our own good and not His. Only the fellow who wants to deceive himself or herself will think otherwise.

Action Point:
Serve and worship God because your life, joy and peace depend on it.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Job 25-29
Amos 2:4-3:2 

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 3:   HOW GREAT THOU ART

1. O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Chorus:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

2. When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

[Chorus]

3. And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

[Chorus]

4. When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then shall I bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim, "My God, how great Thou art!"

[Chorus]

Marriage Insight: Favorite Marriage Advice – Part Two

Marriage Insight: Favorite Marriage Advice – Part Two

Last week Cindy shared with you some of her all time favorite advice for marriage that she has gleaned over the years. This week I (Steve) have the honor of sharing with you a few of my favorites. Some of it will be directed specifically toward the guys. That’s because my passion is to help husbands love their wives in such a way that honors God.

Al Janssen, from his book, “The Marriage Masterpiece,” puts it this way: "One of the original purposes of marriage as God intended it in the Garden of Eden was to reflect his image. That means marriage is about something bigger than the two of us. Marriage is one of God’s primary means of speaking to the world, and the world takes notice when a man truly loves his wife the way ‘Christ loves his church.’"

Janssen went on to give us men how this looks in practical terms: "I have numerous opportunities every day to give up what I want to do and instead serve my wife. In this way, I glorify God because my sacrifice is a reflection of his heart and how he loves his bride. I’ve finally realized that my marriage is satisfying to the degree that I daily sacrifice myself for my wife’s good. What does that mean?

• It means biting my tongue when I’d rather defend myself against something she said.

• It means getting up in the middle of the night when a child cries rather than pretending I don’t hear anything.

• It means putting down my reading material and really listening when she wants to talk.

• It means taking over some chores when she’s got a hectic day.

• It means cleaning the kitchen Sunday evening rather than leaving the mess for her to face on Monday morning.

• It means that when I’m accidentally exposed to porn while channel surfing in a hotel room far from home, I shut off the TV because I won’t allow any impure thoughts to invade my marriage.”

I can tell you that when I started to practice Janssen’s principles in our marriage it transformed our marriage. One of the other principles that dramatically changed our marriage was when Cindy and I realized how important it was for us to have a “grace based marriage.” Dr. Tim Kimmel and his wife, Darcy, explain it this way:

“When people see a husband and wife relating to each other in a context of God’s grace, when they see us go to the foot of the cross when we’ve lost our way, when they see us still caring for each other when life has given us many reasons to walk out, the gospel is validated.  We may never know how much God’s grace rubs off of us onto others.  But it does.  When we take our spiritual purpose to heart, our sense of significance grows eternal muscles.  It’s what happens when we make it our priority to reflect God’s majesty through grace-filled marriages.” (From “Grace Filled Marriage”)

Marriage Insight: Favorite Marriage Advice

Marriage Insight: Favorite Marriage Advice

In this Insight, we're giving some of our favorite marriage advice (with more posted on our web site at: https://marriagemissions.com/favorite-marriage-advice/ . This week I will give my favorites; next week Steve will give his. We’d LOVE IT if you would post some of your favorites on the web site to help others. With that said, please prayerfully consider the following advice:

-- Before you marry: "Love convinces a couple that they are the greatest romance that has ever been, that no two people have ever loved as they do, and that they will sacrifice absolutely anything in order to be together. And then marriage asks them to prove it." (Mike Mason)

-- "Marriage is more than sharing a life together; it’s building a life together. What you do now is for both, & what is said now is for both. Your purpose is now is for the kingdom & giving glory to the image of God." (Norm Wright) "Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us & gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:1)

-- Take care of your marriage relationship & it will take care of you: "It's a sad state of affairs when we take better care of our cars & houses than we do our marriages. We change the oil, fill the tank & periodically tune up our cars. We change light bulbs, wash windows, paint walls, unplug toilets, and re-roof our houses, but what do we do to maintain our marriage? The truth is: more damage is done than repairs are made. How important is your marriage? Is it more important to you than your car or your home? Are you willing to put in the time and energy it takes to prove to your partner how valuable the relationship truly is to you?" (Dr Steve Stephens)

-- Keep in mind: "Marriage can be wonderful. It can be deeply satisfying & mutually fulfilling. But if it becomes that, it is because both partners have paid a very high price over many years to make it that way. They will have died to selfishness a thousand times. They will have had countless difficult conversations. They will have endured sleepless nights and strained days. They will have prayed hundreds of prayers for wisdom and patience and courage and understanding. They will have said, 'I’m sorry' too many times to remember. They will have been stretched to the breaking point often enough to have learned that, unless Christ is at the center of both their lives, the odds for achieving marital satisfaction are very, very low." (Bill and Lynne Hybels)

-- As far as resolving marital conflict, note: “If we strive to seek the Light, rather than trying to be right, a lot of our marital problems will resolve themselves.” (Unknown) The “Light” referred to is Jesus. We are to put our energy into seeking Jesus & HIS ways—not in getting our own way.

-- "Marriage is for grown-ups. It is not for those that want to 'play' marriage." A great guideline is in the scripture in 1 Corinthians 13:11 where says, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child, I thought like a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." When you say, "I do" you are to say goodbye to acting in immature ways. Marriage is for GROWN-UPS.

-- When things go in an unhealthy direction in your marriage, remember: "You are not responsible for fixing your marriage. But you are responsible for doing what you can to make it better." (Sheila Wray Gregoire) "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:18) Keep in mind: "The issue isn’t whether you fight…it's how you fight & how rich your stockpile of good feelings is about each other to weather difficulties and keep your attitude toward your partner positive." (Dr John Gottman)

I'm ending with some of the best advice ever given for we interact as husband and wife: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:29-32)

May God help us all to grow our marriages to reveal & reflect Christ ~ Cindy & Steve Wright